Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone Podcast ‘Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire’ Sets Season 2 Premiere and Expands With New Interview Show (EXCLUSIVE)
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone’s podcast series “Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire” will return for a second season.
The announcement was made Thursday by the couple and podcast network Lemonada Media. Season 2 will premiere in summer 2025.
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McCarthy stars as the titular Hildy while Falcone is Urgrall the Horned One. Season 1 also included Octavia Spencer as the narrator, Glenn Close as the announcer, Allison Janney as Gorwan the Dragon, Joel McHale as Dra-ell The Usurper and Jim Rash as Drith. The season finale drops Friday, Dec. 13.
McCarthy and Falcone also announced the launch of “Hildy’s Happy Hour,” a companion podcast hosted by writers Falcone and Steve Mallory and featuring conversations with “Hildy” guest stars.
“It’s been so fun to make this show with our funny and talented friends, so we’re delighted to be back for Season 2,” McCarthy and Falcone said in a joint statement. “And yes, we’ll continue to wear elaborate costumes for a podcast.”
“Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire” debuted on Oct. 25, launching to No. 1 on the Fiction charts on Apple Podcasts — where it remained for much of the season — and No. 3 on the Apple Podcasts series charts. Downloads for the first episode were in the top 1% of all podcast episodes published globally, according to Lemonada.
A passion project for McCarthy and Falcone, the two promoted the series on the national talk show circuit, usually wearing kitschy costumes and carrying outlandish props. In fact, “Hildy” downloads increased 253% the day they appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
Listen to “Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire” here.
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