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Unlicensed

By: Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor
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Episodes
  • Trailer
    Oct 20 2022
    From Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, creators of the genre defining fiction podcast Welcome to Night Vale, comes the new LA noire Unlicensed, starring Molly Quinn, Lusia Strus, and T.L Thompson. Unlicensed follows Molly Hatch (Quinn), recently divorced, two years sober, and completely lost on where to go next in her life. On a whim she answers an ad for an assistant to a PI, traveling to an unpromising strip mall on Citrus Avenue in Azusa, CA, where she meets Lou Rosen (Strus). Lou is a brilliant detective, but she’s also a completely disorganized mess, both in her physical space and within her own mind. She loses evidence, forgets what she’s already figured out, and she hasn’t even gotten it together to get her PI license. Working illegally in the outskirts of Los Angeles, where the cul-de-sacs and strip malls sprawl into the desert, the only clients she can get are those who either can't afford anyone else or have cases that are too marginal for licensed PIs or the police to bother with. When a teenage girl pleads for Lou and Molly to take the strangest case of their career, they find themselves involved in something much bigger than they were prepared for. This unlikely pair, with no resources and no back-up, follow a trail of seemingly unconnected cases, which leads them to a ransom, a murder, a mysterious wellness center, and a conspiracy that might go all the way to the governor. Featuring guest appearances by Jason Segel, Janet Varney, James Urbaniak, Cecil Baldwin, Jasika Nicole, Mara Wilson, and more, Unlicensed is a deeply-human, captivating thriller set in the most uncool neighborhoods of America’s coolest city.
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    1 min
  • The Detective of Citrus Ave
    Nov 10 2022
    I’m here about the ad? Assistant to a PI?
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    30 mins
  • Lost Boy Found
    Nov 10 2022
    The boy who came back is not the boy who left. The boy in my house is not my brother.
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    32 mins

An unlikely detective duo unearths a conspiracy in overlooked town

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About the Creator

Jeffery Cranor is a novelist and playwright. He co-created the podcasts Welcome to Night Vale, Within the Wires and Unlicensed. He lives in New York's Hudson River Valley.

About the Creator

Joseph Fink is the creator of the podcasts Welcome to Night Vale, Alice Isn't Dead and Unlicensed, and the New York Times bestselling author of Welcome to Night Vale, It Devours!, and The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home (all written with Jeffrey Cranor), and Alice Isn’t Dead. He is also the author of the middle-grade novel, The Halloween Moon. He and his wife, Meg Bashwiner, have written the memoir The First Ten Years. They live together in the Hudson River Valley and Los Angeles.

Featured Article: Best of the Year—The 15 Best Fiction Listens of 2022


To say it’s a challenge to select the top fiction listens of the year (and this year especially!) is an understatement. But as hard as it is, it’s an even greater honor for our team to be able to listen deeply to so many amazing stories and then highlight the best of the best to you. Fiction is a big category—one that includes everything from epic family sagas to clever short stories, from historical fiction to near-future speculative works.

What listeners say about Unlicensed

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

kept my undivided attention for hours

It's one of those easy listens, interesting, quirky and, at times, hilarious. I hope there will be more to this story!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Story needs better writing. Great performances tho

Story was difficult to follow at times. Might bear a second listen. Overall good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Terrific production

“Unlicensed” is, in my opinion, as good as it gets in an audio production. The story, cast, production are all excellent. It also is a little love note to Los Angeles. Give it try. I don’t think many will be disappointed if they do.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Recommend must listen,

Recommend must listen, try this one out with the kids they will love it I promise!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The SoCal Gothic I’ve been waiting for

Love how this show captured the strangeness, beauty, and devastation of Southern California while bringing in elements of noir and mystery! I loved the two leads and the narrator and look forward to the next season.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great fiction

Really well executed, good quick listen. We’ll worth the listen. Good sound design as well.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I’m hooked!!

This episode grabbed hold of me and held on tight until the very end. The two main characters are equally flawed. Listening to their individual struggles made them feel as though I had to keep listening to see what new struggles they would stumble into next.
I’m case in isn’t obvious, I’m hooked.
Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor have developed a series that must be listened to, and I plan on doing so.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved It!!!!

I loved this story. It was well written and I loved the cast performance. I hope they make more episodes.

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved This!

I don’t know why, but I was absolutely delighted by every part of this story. The voice actors were amazing, I loved the characters, a wonderful use of L.A. as a setting, and terrific story. I liked how the main story wove through each episode but that each episode also had a storyline of its own. So much fun!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great take on detective stories

Loved this! The characters are wonderful, the mysteries are interesting, and the callbacks to other Nightvale productions were fun little Easter eggs.

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