“Where There’s a Will There’s a Wake” is a comedy interview podcast about death and fantasy funerals, using dark humour to make a taboo subject feel playful rather than morbid.

What it is

  • It’s a podcast format originally created as a celebrity interview show built around the idea of planning your “dream” death, funeral, will, and wake.
  • Comedian and actor Kathy Burke is a key host associated with the show, talking to famous guests about how they’d like their own fantasy funeral to go.
  • Episodes mix surreal, over‑the‑top funeral ideas with genuine reflections on mortality, memory, and how people want to be remembered.

How the format works

  • Each guest is guided through set beats: how they die, what happens at the funeral, who gets their stuff (the will), and what the wake is like.
  • The structure is consistent (including a recurring, spooky‑fun jingle), so listeners know the rhythm, even when the ideas get wild.
  • The tone is irreverent and sweary at times, with lots of joking, but there are “windows of vulnerability” where guests share regrets or memories before the mood quickly flips back to jokes.

Why it’s trending and talked about

  • It has topped podcast charts in the UK, getting mainstream TV mentions and features in press, which helped it break out as a trending topic.
  • Fans on forums and social media latch onto its dark one‑liner twist on the old proverb “where there’s a will, there’s a way” (as in the joke “where there’s a will… there’s a funeral”).
  • It taps into a broader 2020s trend: using comedy and casual conversation to talk about death, grief, and planning (similar to other “death‑adjacent” comedy podcasts and services that soften the subject).

Mini forum‑style take

“It shouldn’t be this funny to plan your own funeral, but hearing comics designing ridiculous coffins and petty haunting plans is unexpectedly comforting.”

Common viewpoints you’ll see in discussions:

  • Some listeners say it helps them feel less afraid of death by turning it into a creative thought experiment.
  • Others listen mainly for the celeb gossip and off‑the‑cuff dark jokes, not the deeper themes.
  • A minority find the premise too flippant or uncomfortable, especially if they’ve had a recent loss, so they dip in and out depending on the guest.

Quick HTML table of key facts

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<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Aspect</th>
      <th>Details</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Title</td>
      <td>Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wake[web:1][web:8]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Format</td>
      <td>Comedy interview podcast about fantasy funerals and death[web:1][web:9][web:10]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Core Premise</td>
      <td>Guests design their ideal death, funeral, will, and wake[web:1][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Host</td>
      <td>Kathy Burke as the main associated host[web:1][web:2][web:6][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Tone</td>
      <td>Darkly funny, irreverent, sometimes surprisingly sincere[web:1][web:9][web:10]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Why Popular</td>
      <td>Blends taboo subject (death) with humour, strong guests, and a tight recurring format[web:1][web:2][web:10]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.