Radio host Elvis Duran has partnered with WWE personality Paul Heyman and production company MCM Studios to launch Podrophenia, a new venture aimed at developing, producing, and monetizing video podcasts for creators.

As reported by Variety, the company brings together three partners: the Elvis Duran Group, Looking4Larry (a creative marketing agency co-founded by Heyman and producer Mitchell Stuart), and MCM Studios, headed by Michael Canzoniero. Duran already runs the Elvis Duran Podcast Network, operated by iHeartMedia, home to more than a dozen shows, including his own syndicated morning program on Z100, which has aired for more than three decades.

Duran said the venture responds to a gap in production quality for video podcasts. “We are seeing the need for a different level of production quality for new video podcasts,” he said, adding that shows today need “more than a microphone and booth” to break through.

Podrophenia’s first flagship series is “Hello Randy,” hosted by Randy Fenoli of TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress,” expected to premiere later this year through iHeartMedia and the Elvis Duran Podcast Network. Additional programming is expected to be announced throughout 2026. Deals with creators will include upfront compensation plus profit-sharing terms, and while some shows will run through iHeart, Podrophenia is also pursuing other distribution platforms.

The venture will operate out of MCM Studios’ Chelsea production facility, which includes sound-controlled studios, customizable sets, cinematic lighting, creator green rooms, and post-production capabilities. The space has previously hosted productions tied to Steven Bartlett’s “The Diary of a CEO,” “Hot Ones,” and Keke Palmer.

Heyman framed the studio’s approach as tailored rather than standardized. “In looking at today’s landscape, we’ve seen so many studios that are turnkey and therefore built on the premise of minimal alterations,” he said. “Podrophenia is the first studio specifically customized to the host’s personality and also the concept. We’re not just building a content hub for creators; we’re building a creator hub for the content.” He said the company is scouting broadly for talent, describing his approach as looking for the “uninhibited,” regardless of existing fame.

Stuart said podcasting has “evolved far beyond simply recording conversations,” and that Podrophenia intends to extend creator-led brands into film, merchandise, and other formats built on “authentic storytelling” rather than curated online personas.

The company’s name references The Who’s 1973 album “Quadrophenia.”

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