From Delia Derbyshire’s iconic Doctor Who synth line to the mournful, sardonic brass that opens M.A.S.H. to The Who rock anthems at the beginning of each CSI, there is nothing like those opening notes to set the tone and prime us for the excitement when a new episode drops. What is a TV show—fictional or otherwise—without a theme song? 

Night Beats now has an official theme song! Composed by the brilliant Rick Innis, it’s a dark, jazzy delight. It’s absolutely perfect and you can listen to it here or on its permanent home on our About page.

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by Zilla N. Ex-Mech is a short story by Rohan O’Duill published in Otherverse magazine. It won’t surprise you that I loved this story, given it was written by my friend Rohan. I have excellent taste in friends. Ex-Mech reads like classic science fiction. It reminds me of reading Analog magazine as a kid, of finding anthologies of stories from the Golden Age of science fiction. It’s got a space station, zero-G warfare, luxury cruises around Neptune, and designer drugs. And below the surface of the station, it’s got compelling characters. Gared struggles with PTSD, with adapting to physical disability, with finding meaning in a life which is no longer what they imagined for themself. Vreni is a foolish kid, better at talking than listening, desperate to escape. She’s the perfect foil for Gared, who claims they don’t want to mentor troubled teens, but who can’t resist trying. It turns out there are plenty of ways to run away, but they all lead to the same destination. As a side note, this story is also the first published reference to Night Beats. I am so happy to see our shared fictional ‘verse see the pixelated light of day! You can read the story here: https://otherversemagazine.com/ex-mech/

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Join Night Beats Betas!

Night Beats Betas is a perk for our newsletter subscribers.

The beta readers:
Rachel Rosen worked as a professional editor in a former life, before she succumbed to the lure of teaching high school students.
Zilla Novikov is entirely fictional, but friends tell her that she is, and I quote, “A great beta”.

The deal:
Subscribers can submit a WIP. We’ll pick a few submissions each month and beta read them. We’ll reach out to the author to see if they like our reading. With the authors’ consent, we’ll put it in the next newsletter.

Submit up to 500 words.

We won’t be able to beta everything. If your words don’t get picked one month, feel free to submit it again next month. We wish we had infinite time to beta read but the laws of thermodynamics dictate that infinite time is impossible.
Don’t submit anything which you want to keep secret. Obviously we will not deliberately use your words or ideas, but the whole point is that one of us will read it, and maybe all our subscribers will. Remember, the internet is forever.

Welcome to Night Beats

Night Beats is the best/worst TV show that was never made.

Vampires! Werewolves! Mirror Universes! Terrible CGI! We’ve got it all. Except, you know, a budget or good acting.

Follow us to join in on the adventures of Jane, Lilith, Brad, Brent, Ona, Gwen, and ugggh, Jordan.

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