West Cork is a non-fiction podcast series reported and hosted by Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde, about the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in Drinane, County Cork, Ireland, on 23 December 1996. The 13-episode series premiered as an Audible original on 8 February 2018, and was made freely available widely as a podcast in 2021. A new episode of the series was released on 14 May 2021, detailing the trial in absentia of the main suspect. A television adaptation of the series is being planned.
The series investigates the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier née Bouniol (28 July 1957 â 23 December 1996), a French television producer who was beaten to death outside her holiday home near Toormore, Schull, County Cork, on the night of 23 December 1996. The podcast series was critically acclaimed upon release, and became Audible's most listened-to podcast series of all time.
Sophie Toscan du Plantier was found murdered on 23 December 1996, on the driveway of her holiday home in Drinane, near Schull, County Cork, Ireland. Sophie was born on 28 July 1957 and raised in the first district of Paris in an apartment where her parents Marguerite and Georges Bouniol still live. She married in 1980 and had a son, Pierre-Louis Bauday-Vignaud, the following year. Sophie was a producer of documentaries for French television, on subjects around art and various subcultures. In 1991 she remarried to the renowned French film producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier. They lived in the second district of Paris and in 1992 Sophie bought a getaway home in Toormore, County Cork. Sophie visited frequently with friends and family but in December 1996 she travelled there alone for the first time.
Among her documentary projects is a film about the concept of the fold in art and philosophy, titled Il Voit des Plis Partout (He Sees Folds Everywhere). Directed by Guy Girard the film was released a year after her murder and was billed as presented by âÂÂSophie Toscan Du Plantier"
The 13-episode series premiered as an Audible original on 8 February 2018, and was made freely available widely as a podcast in 2021.
On 14 May 2021, West Cork creators released a new episode of the series, detailing the trial and conviction in-absentia of Ian Bailey. The episode made news for uncovering forensic results that had not been made public showing that unknown male DNA was found on an exhibit taken from the crime scene.
The podcast series is Audible's most listened-to podcast series of all time, and spent seven consecutive weeks as the site's number one nonfiction best seller. The series became notable again in April 2021 when it was released free-to air-on the general podcast platforms and went in at number one In the Apple podcast charts in several countries.
West Cork was critically acclaimed upon release.
The series has been widely praised, with documentary maker Louis Theroux describing the series as "possibly the best true crime podcast of all time". Nicholas Quah at Vulture described it as "vastly more soulful than its true crime peers" and "a stellar true crime tale". Justine McCarthy in The Sunday Times described it as a "seminal series" and "a work of forensic journalism stamped with integrity". Una Mullaly in The Irish Times called it "the next Serial". Writing in The Times, India Knight said "West Cork is the new Serial. It may even be better" The Telegraph described the series as "Brilliantly reported and compellingly constructed". New York Magazine and Time magazine voted West Cork one of the podcasts of 2018 and Time said "The hosts beautifully communicate how a tragedy can impact a town and its people in devastating ways". Esquire called it "a bit of a phenomenon". Writing in Wired, Virginia Heffernan called it "engrossing". The Guardian called West Cork a "nuanced, insightful examination", wrote that the series is "important because of the way it handles the tragedy", and declared "it has everything you need for a top notch investigative series".
Shane O'Mahony, a UK-based Irish criminologist, has praised the podcast in his analysis of the case in a book chapter that argues that new media such as podcasts has the potential to subvert traditional stereotypes in reporting on violence against women. The podcast is held up as a gold standard example of the potential of new media in this regard.
Leading regional newspaper The Southern Star introduced a weekly column devoted to the series noting that "The amount of future projects theàWest Corkàpodcast has either inspired or influenced is truly mind boggling." The columnist is effusive in their praise for the series, writing at one point: "we're only three minutes into episode two of 13 and IâÂÂve never felt more alive."
The paper has described the series as "phenomenally successful", as well as "thoughtful and compelling a "huge hit", and a "global smash".
The paper reported that news of a dramatic adaptation of the series by Sister was "bound to create a lot of local interest, given the huge popularity of the original audio podcast."
On 13 May 2021, Sister, the company behind the Chernobyl miniseries (then Sister Pictures) announced that it was in development with a television adaptation of the West Cork series.