Springleaf

Pat Springleaf is in quite the bind.

He’s an ex con man turned undercover cop in the middle of the biggest case of his career – the gang are getting suspicious, his wife wants a divorce, the police are demanding results and his ex partner-in-crime is blackmailing him.

Not an ideal situation for someone with a burning need to please absolutely everybody.

Springleaf is a true(ish) crime podcast; a dark but daft comedy about an undercover cop with a heart of gold. Pat’s natural flair for deception is both his greatest strength and his biggest weakness – he hates himself, sees the best in everybody else and desperately craves their approval above all else.

Back in 2013, ex-conman-turned-undercover-cop Pat Springleaf was in the middle of a career-defining gig – but problems beset him on all sides: the gang are getting suspicious; his wife wants a divorce; the police are demanding results; and his ex partner in crime is blackmailing him. Not an ideal situation for someone with a burning need to please absolutely everybody.

In 2023, meanwhile, Pat and his producer Adams play excerpts from his wire recordings to studio guests as they unpack the criminal hijinks that launched the comedy career of the man now reasonably widely-known as James Acaster.

Over the course of the series we’ll see him learn to forgive and respect himself and he’ll learn it from the very people who make him feel guilt and self loathing in the first place – his colleagues and the criminals he associates with. They’ll teach him to stand up for himself and do what he’s got to do.