One year ago, the Serial podcast debuted and quickly became a cultural phenomenon. Over the course of 12 episodes that ran over 13 weeks to the end of the year, the show (a spinoff of This American Life) which investigated the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and whether or not Adnan Syed was wrongly convicted for that crime became a must-listen.
As host Sarah Koenig and her staff re-opened the case and talked to virtually everyone involved (including Syed in prison), the audience followed right along with each new discovery and revelation, hoping that the season would end with evidence that would acquit Syed or more definitively prove his guilt. (Personally, I was late to the party on Serial and spent the Thanksgiving holiday during which the show took a one-week break catching up, so that I could be a part of the discussion taking place during the last three shows.)
Koenig didn’t reach a precise conclusion, which disappointed some listeners since there didn’t seem to be a payoff. But that result was probably true to the journalistic approach Koenig had taken all along, trying hard to keep personal feelings and perceptions out of it. Ultimately, the fun of Serial was about the journey, rather than the destination. But it’s certainly understandable that many finished that final episode and felt a letdown.
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The popularity of Serial‘s first season stoked intense anticipation for what was to follow. The show received enough money through donations and sponsorships to fund a second run, leading to natural curiosity over what true-crime story Koenig and her team might delve into next.
While it hasn’t yet been confirmed, there have been reports that Serial will look into the case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who disappeared from his post in Afghanistan and was subsequently taken prisoner by the Taliban. But the circumstances of Bergdahl’s disappearance and capture have been mysterious. Did he, as several of his fellow soldiers assert, desert his post and subsequently endanger the troops tasked with finding him? Should Bergdahl face a court-martial for those accusations?
According to Maxim, Koenig and one of her producers were seen in the courtroom during a preliminary hearing for Bergdahl, which would seem to confirm their interest and involvement in the case. Also at the hearing was screenwriter and producer Mark Boal, who wrote The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, and sources told Maxim that his team provided the Serial staff with some of the research material compiled for making a movie about the case.
We don’t yet know when season two of Serial will begin, but part of the fascination with the show was Koenig’s actual investigation with her producers. That actually comprised some of the podcast’s content each week. So would there be any interest in seeing the process of creating the show on television each week? Apparently, directors/producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller believe there is. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the pair will be executive producers on a cable television series that will chronicle the making of a podcast. The production team is looking at prospective writers for the project.
Lord and Miller are two of the hottest names in Hollywood with the success of the 21 Jump Street movie franchise, The Lego Movie and FOX’s The Last Man on Earth. The pair has been attached to Warner Brothers’ The Flash movie, but was recently signed to direct the upcoming Star Wars anthology film that will focus on a young Han Solo, which might take priority over any other projects. How directly Lord and Miller will be involved is unclear, but the official press release from Fox 21 TV studios certainly indicates that they will have a strong creative role.
A TV companion to season two of Serial (or the third season, if schedules end up working out that way) would likely be compelling, especially during the seven days between podcasts in which listeners and fans dissect what the previous episode reported and the developments that could follow. Of course, it would also be intriguing to have a visual component to the show, allowing viewers to put faces to names, to see media reports and interviews that add depth and context to the story, and watch Koenig and her team do the work that results in the podcasts we listen to each week.
Basically, this potential TV series sounds like the Blu-ray extras to the Serial podcast. For fans of the show who can’t get enough, and those who enjoy completely immersing themselves in the entertainment and culture they enjoy, this could be a worthwhile experience. For media fans and observers, the series could also provide some intriguing insight into how Serial‘s brand of journalism is created. The saying goes that people don’t want to see how the sausage is made. Obviously, Lord and Miller are betting that’s not the case here.