Johnathan Walton Media has struck a deal with The Hideaway Entertainment to develop his latest true-crime podcast, “The Handyman of West Texas,” for the screen.
Walton is a popular true-crime podcast host who began building his own media firm after he produced a successful podcast series about his own devastating encounter with a scam artist. “The Handyman of West Texas” tells the steamy story of a male sex worker in Midland, Texas who serves an upper-crust female clientele in the oil boom town. The six-episode podcast series bowed in January.
“Mickey,” as the sex worker is described in the series, makes house calls posing as a handyman hired to do odd jobs at the homes of successful oil executives. The series also explores the impact of Mickey’s day job, which is doing the muscle work of natural gas extraction, or fracking. On his days off, Mickey claims to have been hired by “hundreds” of women for sexual encounters in Midland and environs in recent years.
“The podcast speaks for itself — the global audience it has built isn’t passive. They’re hooked and craving more. They’re drawn to Mickey and the contradictions of this world, and we see an opportunity to expand his story into something unique, ambitious and tastefully experiential for viewers to enjoy,” The Hideaway’s Ryan Cassells said.
Walton is working on the adaptation with The Hideaway’s Cassells, Jonathan Gray and Jean-Luc De Fanti. Cassells brought the project in to company. Walton and his producing partner Evan Goldstein will executive producer for Johnathan Walton Media. The collaborators have yet to determine whether the adaptation will aim for a feature film or a multi-episode series.
Walton is a local TV journalist (who worked in Houston and San Antonio) turned reality TV producer turned podcaster. He’s eager to expand his wings as a storyteller.
Walton’s professional life took an unexpected turn following the release of 2021’s “Queen of the Con” podcast. Since then Walton has been a prolific producer of high-profile audio series, including “Cocaine Air,” “The Quarterback and the Con Artist,” and five subsequent seasons under the “Queen of the Con” banner that focused on different cases, including “The Athlete Whisperer,” “The California Girls,” “The Unreal Housewife” and more. Last year, Walton published the memoir “Anatomy of a Con Artist,” which also serves as how-to guide for spotting con artists and avoiding manipulation.
“I’ve always had an unintentional knack for uncovering and befriending fascinating characters, be they con artists, cocaine kingpins or oil-fracking sex workers,” Walton said. “I have learned that things are seldom ever what they first appear to be. And that the most compelling and original stories are always hiding in between the lines. And I always seem to find them by being stubbornly curious and asking tons of uncomfortable questions.”
The Hideaway has “the past and pedigree to turn ‘The Handyman of West Texas’ podcast into a rich and meaningful cultural touchstone on screen. I can’t wait for the world to watch what we create together,” Walton added.
The Hideaway is currently in post-production on feature “Alone at Dawn,” directed by Ron Howard, and starring Anne Hathaway and Adam Driver, for Amazon MGM Studios and Imagine Entertainment. The Hideaway was represented by Eisner’s Christian Simonds in the deal with Johnathan Walton Media.