You know what would make a good episode of Mystery Show, the podcast dedicated to solving the tiny mysteries of our lives in a delightful way? Whatever happened to Mystery Show?

The podcast, which premiered back in May 2015, has a simple conceit. Host Starlee Kine would interview someone who has some kind of unsolved mystery hanging out their head. It could be personal, like the woman who rented a video and attempted to return it to the video store the next day only to find the store is completely gone. It could be about a celebrity, like the one about a writer whose unappreciated book appears in Britney Spears’ hands in a random paparazzi photo. Whatever the mystery, Kine then set about solving it.

That was the hook, but the real pleasure of each episode was the way Kine would meet random people throughout the journey and discover fascinating insights about them. Kine is just one of those rare people who can make anyone, even a complete stranger, open up about their deepest secrets in a matter of minutes. In the end, she usually ended up solving the mystery, or at least providing closure of a kind for the mystery-seeker.

Between May and August, six episodes of Mystery Show were produced. The third episode, Belt Buckle, which is about a really strange belt buckle, remains one of the single best podcast episodes I’ve ever heard in my life. The fifth episode, in which Starlee tries to determine once and for all how tall Jake Gyllenhaal is once and for all, was the rare podcast episode that broke out into pop culture at large. Kine would appear on Conan O’Brien’s show with the actor to answer the question once and for all.

The number of podcast hosts who weren’t already famous who end up sitting on late night couches discussing their show is a pretty small one. To top it all off, the show was named Best New Podcast of the Year by iTunes.

After the sixth episode, the show went on hiatus and eager listeners waited for the second season to premiere. And they waited.

And they waited.

Not only where no new episodes popping up but the Twitter feed went radio silent (or Twitter silent) for over a year until a cryptic tweet in September.

Which was then followed by an explanation, finally, on Thursday.

According to Kine, the show’s network, Gimlet Media, had let her go in April without warning while she was working on the second season.

I’d been having trouble figuring out the new season – second seasons can be tricky – and so I’d gone away, to work on an episode. I didn’t make as much progress as I had hoped, but the season was starting to take shape. The day I returned, Alex Blumberg told me the show was unsustainable. I was out. I lost my staff, my salary, my benefits, my budget and my email address.

Gimlet is well known in podcasting circles thanks to their initial show, Startup, which chronicled the beginning of the company, as well as well-respected shows such as Reply All and Science Vs. Mystery Show was the only podcast in their network to be shut down in 2016.

At the same time Kine released her statement, Gimlet released their own, trying to color in the details ever so slightly as to why such a highly-acclaimed show would be discarded so soon.

Mystery Show is an ambitious production and Starlee has an uncompromising vision for the show, which is what makes it so great. However, these factors combined make Mystery Show unsustainable to produce and publish on a consistent basis, and therefore Gimlet will no longer produce new episodes of Mystery Show. We are in discussions with Starlee to reach an agreement where she may produce Mystery Show independently of Gimlet.

Gimlet owner Alex Blumberg then added some comments in the medium he’s most comfortable dealing with, via podcast.

Somewhat ominously, Blumberg notes that “there are certain things that need to remain private” but that he is “really, really sad” about the end of the show.

And so, Mystery Show listeners are back where they started. Unclear on when they might get to hear more of this great podcast. Kine says she’s working on a way to get the show going again. Gimlet says they’re working on a way to let Kine do that. With the growth of so many other podcasting networks such as Wondery, Maximum Fun, and Earwolf, it’s hard to believe Kine won’t at least have some options.

As for what, exactly, went down between Kine and Gimlet that ultimately ended this run way too soon, that’s one mystery we might never know.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.