Tom Sainsbury's Small Town Scandal
iHeartRadio NZ 24 episodes Dec 9, 2025
Tom Sainsbury's Small Town Scandal is an eight-part mockumentary that parodies true-crime podcasts such as Serial, Teacher's Pet and Drop Out. Created and performed entirely by New Zealand comedian and actor Tom Sainsbury, it invents a fictional small-town mystery and plays it straight in the style of investigative journalism shows. It was released by iHeartRadio NZ as a light, bingeable summer listen. The humour comes from the deadpan, single-performer take on the genre's earnest narration and cliffhanger structure.
Episodes
Episode 8: Revenge is Sweet
Hugh Wyndham-Blythe has finally uncovered the truth behind the skeletons beneath Aldersgate’s 18th green - but no one seems to care. Even as his life hangs in the balance, the culprits move to silence him. Yet corruption and greed aren’t the only forces at play. Sometimes it’s the quietest, most unassuming voices that hold the power to deliver the final, shocking verdict. Small T
Episode 7: The Sterling Crown Invitational
Hugh is closer than ever to Aldersgate’s buried secrets. He knows who’s behind the bodies under the 18th green - but the motives, the accomplices, and the danger remain unknown. The golf course, a stage of skill and prestige, now hides pressure, obsession, and desperate measures. Faces he thought were familiar turn threatening, and every revelation feels like a step closer to something
Episode 6: The Run Around
Hugh digs deeper into the 1996 Sterling Crown Invitational murders and uncovers long-buried secrets. He finally identifies the skeletal remains and tracks down friends and acquaintances who may hold crucial clues. But as the puzzle starts to come together, a shocking suspect emerges from left field. With answers within reach but motives still unclear, the true scandal threatens to tear the quiet t
Episode 5: Kinky
Hugh navigates the opening night of the Sterling Crown Invitational, hunting for answers about a young woman named Nicole Fairweather and why her belongings were buried under the 18th green. After a series of suspicious phone calls and a chance meeting with a rival wellness podcaster keen to expose the skeletons, Hugh uncovers a startling deception involving an amateur actress - and follows the tr
Episode 4: The Tartan and the Lanyard
The sleepy, posh town of Aldersgate is buzzing with preparations for the event of the century - the Sterling Crown Invitational, right on their own golf course. Meanwhile, golfing podcaster Hugh Wyndham-Blythe is digging into the skeletal remains discovered beneath the 18th green. With all previous investigations now defunct, he has to start from scratch again. His desperate search for a lead land
Episode 3: Whispering Pines
Hugh’s search leads him to the forgotten commune Whispering Pines, where he uncovers traces of a woman known as Daisy Chain. He pockets a diary she left behind. Her writing hints at a secret relationship and a sudden disappearance the town never quite explained. When another anonymous warning appears on Hugh’s car, threatening him if he continues his investigation, tensions rise. Teami
Episode 2: First Love
Hugh finds himself dragged back into the mystery of the skeleton under Aldersgate’s 18th hole - once thought to be his missing first love, Sophie. But an old recording pops up, then a very unexpected phone call, and suddenly Hugh’s not sure what (or who) to believe. As he grills old mates and stirs up town gossip, forensics drops a bombshell: there’s much more to these human rema
Episode 1: The Skull
When a human skull turns up under the 18th green at the Aldersgate Golf Course, golf podcaster Hugh Wyndham-Blythe is “volunteered” by his listen-hungry boss to investigate. Hugh’s initial reaction? Mild annoyance and a strong desire to get back to talking about swing tempo. But once he hears when the skull was buried, everything changes. This isn’t just some dusty cold cas
Small Town Scandal Season 3 Teaser
A summer podcast to die for... Small Town Scandal Season 3: Part 1 comes out Wednesday December 3rd. Small Town Scandal is an 8-part mockumentary true-crime podcast all voiced by one incredible actor - Tom Sainsbury. Follow us on Instagram: @thomassainsbury / @iheartradionzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Episode 8: Who is Hungryhungryhungry70? (Season 2)
Rescued from the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean, Toby finds himself alive but confused on New Years Day. The whole story unravels with all the twists and turns you’d expect from the small town of Ruatuna, but will Toby get out alive? An 8-part mockumentary true-crime podcast parodying the podcasts like Serial, Teachers Pet and Drop Out. All voiced by one actor - Tom Sainsbury. Facebook: Tom Sa
Episode 7: Moments To Midnight (Season 2)
Toby finally gets to the island that the teenagers are inhabiting for their New Years celebration with Levi Levarne. With only hours to go until midnight, will this be the end of him? Will this be the end of the world? Or will Toby manage to solve the mystery and save the small town of Ruatuna? Only time will tell. An 8-part mockumentary true-crime podcast parodying the podcasts like Serial, Teach
Episode 6: Mysterious Islands, Boat Wrecks and Raunchy Encounters (Season 2)
Trying to get to the bottom of where the teenagers are going, Toby goes back to check on Anthea and see if she will give him clues for his mystery. He doesn’t get much help, until he meets two more locals who offer to take him out on their boat to search the islands for the music festival the teenagers are hiding from him. Back on dry land, things go from bad to worse, back to good again. The poli
Episode 5: Too Many Leads, Not Enough Time (Season 2)
Sprung by the Winstanley’s guests and potentially in the middle of a meeting to plan the downfall of a town, Toby bluffs his way out of a sticky situation, but now he has a new lead – his Airbnb hosts… He’s then drawn to a scene on the beach with the potential eco-terrorist, getting himself into a bind by offering help her while she goes for a rest. He also gains the attention of the policeman who
Episode 4: Survivors Guilt, Pop Stars and Resentful Retirees (Season 2)
After breaking the news to David Dearlove, Toby continues the investigation. The leads are all a bit cold, until he finds out that Anthea has headed out on a boat with the bullying teenagers from the beach. Why would she have lied to him? Trying to get to the bottom of the whether Levi Levarne will be in town and what that might have to do with the New Years threat, he tries to find out more from
Episode 3: Troublesome Teenagers and a Murderer Among Us (Season 2)
Toby heads out to the peninsula to meet with Dawn – the hermit who is blocking Dearloves development dreams – she seems friendly enough until she inadvertently admits her dark past. On his way home he stumbles across another lead with a very angry conservationist who is dedicated to protecting the breading grounds of an endangered bird – could she be an eco-terrorist? Feeling more confused than ev
Episode 2: Unfriendly Locals and Arrogant Property Developers (Season 2)
After escaping his security conscious and geriatric Air BnB hosts, Lynn and Stan Winstanley, Toby finally makes it out into the small town of Ruatuna. Starting at the local drinking hole he meets the vigilant and close-knit locals and doesn’t get a very warm reception. He does get one lead though, David Dearlove – the town’s much loathed property developer trying to make Ruatuna a town for the met
Episode 1: Severed Body Parts and The New Years Threat (Season 2)
Just when he thought he was out of the podcast business, Toby Buchanan receives a gruesome package in the mail. Intrigued by the severed Toe and before he even rings the Police, Toby picks up his dictaphone and starts recording a new podcast, much to the disappointment of his new girlfriend Kristy. The correspondence is accompanied by a series of letters and emails encouraging Toby to travel to Ru
S1/Ep6: Broken friendships, demons and the killer finally revealed
Buckle up for final episode of Tom Sainsbury's Small Town Scandal. Old school friends reveal more mysteries, pet food comes back to haunt Toby and the killer is finally revealed! Tom Sainsbury's Small Town Scandal is a 6-part murder mystery series, voiced entirely by New Zealand's leading comedic satirist Tom Sainsbury, playing characters we all know and love from small town Aotearoa. Facebo
S1/Ep5: Finding Dad, Katie's lies and a sordid act on a roadside
Toby finally gets the courage to find his father and have a conversation, which raises even more questions. Dinner with Katie and Matt goes wrong when Toby drinks too much and finds a car that he saw on some security footage, and then Katie finally admits that all is not what it seems between her and Uncle Mitch. Not to mention the biggest crime of all... $5 lolly mixtures. Tom Sainsbury's Small
S1/Ep4: Swingers, Horse riding and Jeffrey Jefferson
In search of the source of the ketamine Uncle Mitch's has in his system, Toby stumbles across a small-town swingers' party, and finds Janine in a compromising position. He then puts his life on the line trying to find Uncle Mitch's arch nemesis, former lawn mowing man Jeffrey Jefferson, who tells him exactly where his Father is hiding. Things only get stranger when Kaite invites back to the mansio
S1/Ep3: Drugs, automatic mowers and a long lost father (and murderer?)
Te Hoiho is a horse town, so Toby goes looking for the possible source of the Ketamine that was in his uncle's system when he died. After failing spectacularly, he then shifts his investigation to the automatic mowers, and whether they are capable of the gruesome injuries they inflicted on Mitch. Then, in a shocking turn, he learns his father is in town, and might have a reason to have committed a
S1/Ep2: The affair, an autopsy and the mystery drugs
Toby follows up the first lead, suspicious of his Aunty Janine and her motives to kill his Uncle Mitch. Still not convinced it was a heart attack, he tries to track down the autopsy with little luck to begin with, before he leaves his journalistic integrity at the door to get an Irishman drunk. Thats when he learns the most shocking detail so far! Tom Sainsbury's Small Town Scandal is a 6-part m
S1/Ep1: The disgraced journalist, bad cops and the first lead
In the first episode, disgraced journalist Toby Buchanan finds himself back in his hometown and after a voice message from his Uncle Mitch, asking him to meet at his mansion, he finds him dead. Officially it's labelled a heart attack, but thanks to the voice message he thinks there is more to it. He does what all good middle-aged men do, starts a podcast. Only this podcast is to solve an active
Tom Sainsbury's Small Town Scandal Season 1 Trailer
A 6-part murder mystery series, voiced entirely by New Zealand's leading comedic satirist Tom Sainsbury, playing characters we all know and love from small town Aotearoa. Something is afoot in the farming community of Te Hoiho in the Wairarapa. The richest man in town, Mitch Buchanan, has been found dead. Killed by the very thing that he brought into the world - his automatic mowers. Everyone in
