Santa Maybe, a Criminal

Santa Maybe, a Criminal Trailer

It’s like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
Basically… everything your meemaw warned you about.
When Santa gets booked into the county jail, amateur podcaster Richie Buck fires up his microphone and his best “investigative” voice to clear the Big Man’s name. What follows is a holly-jolly whodunnit featuring disgruntled elves, an Easter Bunny with IBS, and some of your favorite true crime podcasters narrating the chaos.
Santa Maybe, a Criminal is a festive true-crime satire that asks the only question worth asking this holiday season:Is Santa… maybe… a criminal?

The First Day of Christmas - A Partridge in a Pine Tree

Episode 1: The First Day of Christmas – A Partridge in a Pine Tree
It's like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
Santa Claus expects milk and cookies on his Christmas route. What he does not expect is a cup of hunch punch strong enough to stun a reindeer. But one wrong sip in a tiny south Georgia town sends the big man spiraling into trouble - serious trouble. By dawn, he’s the prime suspect in a DUI and the hit-and-run death of Ruthie Barker Guest, a sweet grandmother who was just trying to drop off her scuppernong preserves on County Line Road.
Enter Richie Buck - pest control tech, makeshift carpenter, and the third-best wise man in his church’s nativity. When Richie hears the news, he refuses to believe it. Santa? A killer? Not on Richie’s watch. And so begins the most bizarre investigation the South has ever seen.
Head Elf, Jason UsryCo-Executive Elves: Rebekah Sebastian, Dr. Shiloh Catanese, Dr. Scott Musgrove, and Michelle Kaz.Santa Maybe, a Criminal is written and produced by Jason Usry
Cast: Richie Buck - Jason UsrySanta Claus - Pat PiconeRodney Dale Murphy - Frank Barnas (host of Voca Vacay)Sheriff Bradley Dewberry - Kevin GroganMusic and Sound FX sourced through Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, Audiio, Universal Music for Creators and more.  Additional music and atmospheres provided by Captain Fathands.Follow the show on social media:X - @santamaybeFacebook - @SantaMaybePodcastWeb - santamaybe.com
Until next time: BE NICE

The Second Day of Christmas - Vehicular Man's Laughter

Episode 2: The Second Day of Christmas – Vehicular Man's Laughter
It's like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
Christmas Eve takes a bizarre turn when Sheriff Bradley DeBerry discovers an abandoned sleigh, nine restless reindeer, and a tragedy in the ditch off County Line Road. With one reindeer sporting a suspiciously glowing nose, and jars of Ruthie Barker Guest’s scuppernong preserves cracked open nearby, the scene looks less like a traffic call and more like a Christmas myth gone sideways.
Detective Samantha Strong arrives - rigid, razor-sharp, and not amused. She soon zeroes in on the unthinkable suspect: Santa Claus himself. Richie Buck retraces the investigation, from the sheriff’s run-in with live reindeer to Santa’s tense interrogation, where ho-ho-hos sound more like a nervous tic than holiday cheer. And when Richie spots an edit in the interrogation tape, he starts questioning whether the case against Santa is as airtight as the Sheriff’s Office claims.
Now Richie has to ask:Is Santa really guilty of vehicular homicide… or is something not adding up?
Cast: Richie Buck - Jason UsrySanta Claus - Pat PiconeSheriff Bradley Dewberry - Kevin GroganRita Barker - Marie BarnasDetective Samantha Strong - Shiloh Catanese
Head Elf, Jason UsryCo-Executive Elves: Rebekah Sebastian, Dr. Shiloh Catanese, Dr. Scott Musgrove, and Michelle Kaz.Santa Maybe, a Criminal is written and produced by Jason UsryMusic and Sound FX sourced through Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, Audiio, Universal Music for Creators and more.  Additional music and atmospheres provided by Captain Fathands.Follow the show on social media:X - @santamaybeFacebook - @SantaMaybePodcastWeb - santamaybe.com
Until next time: BE NICE

The Third Day of Christmas – Reindeer Games

The Third Day of Christmas – Reindeer Games
It's like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
As the community gathers in a packed country church to honor Ruthie Barker Guest, Richie Buck can’t shake a gnawing question: if Santa was arrested on Christmas Eve… then how did the rest of the world wake up to presents under the tree? While the vigil lifts Ruthie’s life and legacy, Richie is pulled even deeper into the mystery Santa left behind.
Denied access to Santa, Richie turns his attention to the impounded reindeer — where he and Detective Strong discover tension in the herd, suspicious injuries, and one very isolated Rudolph. Between Vaseline-slick fur, skittish behavior, and the “Hateful Eight” icing out their glowing-nosed brother, the reindeer may be hiding more than anyone expected.
Then a mysterious envelope appears in Richie’s mailbox, leading to a face-to-face conversation with Santa himself at the local correctional facility. Clean-shaven, tired, and stripped of his iconic image, Santa finally hints at an answer to Richie’s biggest question… but he’s not ready to reveal it yet.
With emotions high, clues piling up, and Christmas mythology starting to crack at the seams, Richie inches closer to the truth  - or at least to someone who wants to tell it.
 
Cast: Richie Buck - Jason UsrySanta Claus - Pat PiconePreacher Ronnie Douglas - Joseph O'SteenAction 10 News Reporter, Amanda Jergenson - Rebekah SebastianRita Barker - Marie BarnasRodney Dale Murphy - Frank BarnasBart from the State Farm - Chris HeltonGary, the Guard - Jeremy HutsonSheriff Bradley Dewberry - Kevin GroganRita Barker - Marie BarnasDetective Samantha Strong - Shiloh Catanese
Head Elf, Jason UsryCo-Executive Elves: Rebekah Sebastian, Dr. Shiloh Catanese, Dr. Scott Musgrove, and Michelle Kaz.Santa Maybe, a Criminal is written and produced by Jason UsryMusic and Sound FX sourced through Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, Audiio, Universal Music for Creators, and more.  Additional music and atmospheres provided by Captain Fathands.Follow the show on social media:X - @santamaybeFacebook - @SantaMaybePodcastWeb - santamaybe.com
Until next time: BE NICE
 

The Fourth Day of Christmas – Naughty or Nice

The Fourth Day of Christmas – Naughty or NiceIt's like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
Richie Buck returns to the correctional facility for a second conversation with Santa Claus — now stripped of his iconic beard, dressed in a red jumpsuit, and looking more like a weary small-town umpire than the mythic keeper of Christmas. As Richie presses him on how the presents were delivered after his arrest, Santa leans close to the glass and offers only two words: Christmas magic. But the way he says it makes Richie wonder whether that’s an answer… or a warning.
Determined to understand Santa’s behavior, Richie turns to expert help. First up is Dr. Peter Vim­sickle, a forensic psychologist with a velvet mustache, seersucker suit, and enough ego to fill a sleigh. He breaks down possible explanations for Santa’s compulsive “ho ho hos,” shifting demeanor, and emotional responses — including the possibility of neurological or personality disorders.
But a second opinion paints a very different picture. Over tacos and margaritas, Dr. Myra Abernathy — blunt, brilliant, and absolutely uninterested in holiday sentimentality — insists Santa is guilty and cracking under the weight of the identity the world forced onto him. To her, this isn’t magic gone wrong… it’s pressure finally breaking.
While Richie wrestles with conflicting evaluations, a barrage of online ads leads him to a bizarre new idea: a crowdfunding platform that might just be the key to financing Santa’s defense — and maybe even his bail.
With expert opinions clashing, Santa withholding answers, and a new plan forming in Richie’s mind, the line between naughty and nice has never felt blurrier.
Cast: Richie Buck - Jason UsrySanta Claus - Pat PiconeDr. Peter Whimsickle - Scott MusgroveDr. Myra Abernathy - CherryBail Buddy - Elon Muskrat
Head Elf, Jason UsryCo-Executive Elves: Rebekah Sebastian, Dr. Shiloh Catanese, Dr. Scott Musgrove, and Michelle Kaz.Santa Maybe, a Criminal is written and produced by Jason UsryMusic and Sound FX sourced through Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, Audiio, Universal Music for Creators and more.  Additional music and atmospheres provided by Captain Fathands.Follow the show on social media:X - @santamaybeFacebook - @SantaMaybePodcastWeb - santamaybe.com
Until next time: BE NICE

The Fifth Day of Christmas - The Case Against

The Fifth Day of Christmas - The Case Against
Richie Buck heads straight into the lion’s den - the prosecutor’s office.  There, he hopes to understand exactly what Santa Claus is up against. But what he finds isn’t a quiet room of legal briefs… It’s a true-crime trophy hall, every wall plastered with mugshots of past convictions like hunting mounts. And the prosecutors, Chet and Sally, treat justice like a competitive sport. Or worse, a hobby.
Between high-fives, Top Gun references, and a surprising admission that they nickname Santa “Iceman,” the duo walks Richie through the massive charging document: vehicular manslaughter, breaking and entering, reckless endangerment, unlawful surveillance, cruelty to animals, violating airspace, and even “kissing without consent.” It’s a mountain of accusations, and the prosecutors seem a little too eager to plant a flag at the summit.
Overwhelmed, Richie turns to Detective Samantha Strong for clarity, reading each charge aloud over donuts at The Bacon Shack. But every explanation she gives feels more like a nail in Santa’s coffin, especially when the evidence doesn’t look nearly as shaky as Richie hoped.
With prosecutors circling, the community whispering, and Santa’s mugshot already hanging on their wall as if the verdict were a done deal, Richie faces his most brutal realization yet: the case against Santa is massive… and belief alone might not be enough to save him.
It's like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
Cast: Richie Buck - Jason UsrySanta Claus - Pat PiconeChet - Brett, from The Prosecutors PodcastSally - Alice, from The Prosecutors PodcastDetective Samantha Strong - Shiloh Catanese
Head Elf, Jason UsryCo-Executive Elves: Rebekah Sebastian, Dr. Shiloh Catanese, Dr. Scott Musgrove, and Michelle Kaz.Santa Maybe, a Criminal is written and produced by Jason UsryMusic and Sound FX sourced through Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, Audiio, Universal Music for Creators and more.  Additional music and atmospheres provided by Captain Fathands.Follow the show on social media:X - @santamaybeFacebook - @SantaMaybePodcastWeb - santamaybe.com
Until next time: BE NICE
 

The Sixth Day of Christmas - The Case For

The Sixth Day of Christmas - The Case For
Richie Buck returns to the correctional facility, only to discover that Santa’s arrest has turned the mailroom into a 24/7 operation, overwhelmed with letters from children who still believe. When he finally sits across from Santa, the jolly man drops the “ho, ho, ho” act and speaks like a regular person, revealing cracks of doubt, frustration, and fear beneath the persona the world expects him to uphold.
But Santa has bigger worries: his court-appointed attorney is a disaster. After a hilarious and deeply concerning encounter, Richie fires the public defender himself and replaces him with someone bold enough to take on the world’s most mythic client - a flashy, fearless, red-nosed (literally) defense attorney named Derek Rudolph. Equal parts showman and legal bulldog, Derek promises Santa will walk out “guilty free”… guaranteed.
Just as hope starts to rise, a mysterious caller summons Richie to a late-night meeting behind The Bacon Shack. There, a disguised informant delivers a bombshell: the blood on Santa’s sleigh wasn’t human at all. It belonged to a bird—an owl. If true, the entire case could unravel.
And then, as Richie’s mind reels, another message arrives. A green envelope. Block letters. No postage.Inside, a summons to travel north. Far north.Someone at the top of the world wants to see him.
With a new defense team, a shocking twist in the evidence, and a summons from the North Pole itself, Richie’s investigation is about to cross a line he can’t uncross.
It's like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
Cast: Richie Buck - Jason UsrySanta Claus - Pat PiconeGary the Prison Guard - Jeremy HutsonDetective Samantha Strong - Shiloh CataneseTrip Tripley - Kyle BurnsedDerek Rudolf - Bob MottaSebastian Blue - Adam Messer
Head Elf, Jason UsryCo-Executive Elves: Rebekah Sebastian, Dr. Shiloh Catanese, Dr. Scott Musgrove, and Michelle Kaz.Santa Maybe, a Criminal is written and produced by Jason UsryMusic and Sound FX sourced through Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, Audiio, Universal Music for Creators and more.  Additional music and atmospheres provided by Captain Fathands.Follow the show on social media:X - @santamaybeFacebook - @SantaMaybePodcastWeb - santamaybe.com
Until next time: BE NICE

The Seventh Day of Christmas - High Elf Esteem

Richie Buck is all in, and now it’s permanent. After uncovering new evidence, hiring a flashy new defense attorney, and learning that the blood on Santa’s sleigh wasn’t human at all, Richie takes the ultimate leap of loyalty: getting a full-on Santa tattoo. As the needle buzzes, he doubles down on his mission to prove the big man’s innocence and restore Christmas for everyone.
But with his departure for the North Pole imminent, the world around him seems to wobble. Detective Samantha Strong is torn between ridicule and concern. Richie’s travel plans span more modes of transportation than any human should reasonably take in a single day. And when he finally arrives at the “NoPo,” nothing is as he imagined - no twinkling lights, no toy-filled wonderland. Instead, he finds a bleak industrial sprawl, eerie neon bars, and a cold so sharp it cuts.
His guide is Ellie, a 156-year-old elf with zero patience, a wicked sense of humor, and a deep disdain for being mistaken for a fairy. She leads Richie through back alleys, old institutions, and finally into a smoke-filled room where a mysterious figure waits in the shadows.
Todd O'Tannenbaum.The Toddfather.
And he’s been expecting Richie.
Richie’s quest for the truth has finally brought him to the top of the world—but what he finds here might be even stranger than what he left behind.
It's like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
Cast: Richie Buck - Jason UsrySanta Claus - Pat PiconeJenny the Tattoo Artist - Kelli - Berens BrinkDetective Samantha Strong - Shiloh CataneseChris Helton - Todd O'Tannenbaum
Head Elf, Jason UsryCo-Executive Elves: Rebekah Sebastian, Dr. Shiloh Catanese, Dr. Scott Musgrove, and Michelle Kaz.Santa Maybe, a Criminal is written and produced by Jason UsryMusic and Sound FX sourced through Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, Audiio, Universal Music for Creators and more.  Additional music and atmospheres provided by Captain Fathands.Follow the show on social media:X - @santamaybeFacebook - @SantaMaybePodcastWeb - santamaybe.com
Until next time: BE NICE
 

The Eighth Day of Christmas - Intercontinental Ballistic Mistletoe

The Eighth Day of Christmas - Intercontinental Ballistic Mistletoe
Richie Buck’s journey through the North Pole takes a sharp, disorienting turn as he finds himself deep inside the abandoned institution where elves once labored until their final cuckoo clock. There, amid smoke, shadows, and the lingering scent of some "elfin tobacco,” Richie meets the elusive Todd O. Tannenbaum - better known as The Toddfather.
At first, Richie thinks he’s finally reached the North Pole official who can help him prove Santa’s innocence. But the longer he sits in that haze, the clearer it becomes: Todd didn’t bring him here to save Santa… he brought him here to bury him. When Richie refuses to bend, Todd flips a radio knob, and Richie collapses into a drug-induced sleep.
He wakes in a strange room with Ellie, the world’s most impatient elf - who informs him they’re late for a meeting with the mayor. Nothing at the North Pole looks the way Richie imagined. No lights, no candy-cane cottages. Just industrial gray, weary elves, and simmering unrest.
Mayor P.P. Patenaude greets Richie with eggnog, charm, and a political request that makes Richie’s head spin: an endorsement from Santa Claus himself. And later, at the North Pole’s exclusive “NOPO Cabana,” Todd and the mayor ply Richie with Liquid Christmas and dense political riddles, turning the evening into a blur of smoke, neon, and escalating tension.
But the night isn’t over. Outside, an elf in a heavy coat stops Richie and ushers him into a black sleigh. The elf flashes a badge.
Cameron D. KaneHead of the ELF-BI.
According to him, Santa’s arrest has created an international hostage crisis. Power is shifting. Alliances are forming.
If Richie wants to straighten the mess out, he’ll need to meet someone who knows Santa better than anyone.
Mrs. Claus.
 
It's like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
Cast: Richie Buck - Jason UsrySanta Claus - Pat PiconeTodd O'Tannenbaum AKA: The Toddfather - Chris HeltonEllie the Elf - Sydney CataneseMayor P.P. Patenaude - Lance Reenstierna of Crawlspace and MissingCameron (Cam) D. Kane, head of the Elf B I - Tim Pillieri of Crawlspace and MissingSpecial drink of the podcast created by Nina of The Already Gone podcast.
Head Elf, Jason UsryCo-Executive Elves: Rebekah Sebastian, Dr. Shiloh Catanese, Dr. Scott Musgrove, and Michelle Kaz.Santa Maybe, a Criminal is written and produced by Jason UsryMusic and Sound FX sourced through Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, Audiio, Universal Music for Creators and more.  Additional music and atmospheres provided by Captain Fathands.Follow the show on social media:X - @santamaybeFacebook - @SantaMaybePodcastWeb - santamaybe.com
Until next time: BE NICE
 

The Ninth Day of Christmas - Secrets, Santa

Richie Buck’s time at the North Pole is running out, but the deeper he digs, the stranger - and darker - everything becomes. At the urging of Cam D. Kain, the head of the ELF-BI, Richie is taken to a fenced-in wasteland known as the Blandfill, a desolate dumping ground where old toys, forgotten gifts, and waddling penguins replace the seagulls and garbage of a normal landfill.
There, Richie discovers something that rocks his understanding of both Santa and Ruthie Barker Guest: decades’ worth of Christmas presents that Santa never delivered to her. Every year since 1985, her gifts wound up abandoned in the Blandfill instead of under her tree. Each box is tagged, wrapped, and rejected.But why?And what did Santa know?
More unsettling truths emerge as Richie visits the Claus compound, where Mrs. Claus - Karen - is far younger than expected, brutally honest, and surprisingly fed up. She walks Richie through Santa’s actual workshop: a joyless, industrial factory where conveyor belts replace carols and overworked elves churn out toys like machinery. Then, over mistletoe malt beers, she drops the biggest bombshell yet: Ruthie Barker Guest wasn’t just some disgruntled grandma… she and Santa had a history. The kind you don’t write in Christmas cards.
With every revelation, the story lurches further away from the innocent holiday tale Richie thought he was living, and closer to something messy, human, and dangerous. If Santa was set up, someone wanted him buried. But if he wasn’t…
Richie picks up the mysterious gift he smuggled out of the Blandfill and finally answers the question he’s been avoiding:
What’s inside Ruthie Barker Guest’s final present?
It's like Santa Claus.As a suspect.On Dateline.In the South.
Cast: Richie Buck - Jason UsrySanta Claus - Pat PiconeCameron D. Kane - Tim PilleriMayor P.P. Patenaude - Lance ReenstiernaMrs. Karen Claus - Laura Anderson
Head Elf, Jason UsryCo-Executive Elves: Rebekah Sebastian, Dr. Shiloh Catanese, Dr. Scott Musgrove, and Michelle Kaz.Santa Maybe, a Criminal is written and produced by Jason UsryMusic and Sound FX sourced through Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, Audiio, Universal Music for Creators and more.  Additional music and atmospheres provided by Captain Fathands.Follow the show on social media:X - @santamaybeFacebook - @SantaMaybePodcastWeb - santamaybe.com
Until next time: BE NICE