Serial / Mashable
In 2014, NPR released the Serial podcast hosted by Sara Koenig and had no idea the cultural phenomenon that they’d unleashed. A new episode was released each week detailing the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee for which Adnan Syed was convicted.
When Sara Koenig released Serial there’s no possible way she could’ve known how big this would grow. It has set an ongoing world record for most podcast downloads with over 175 million downloads as of last Summer. And it’s all but certain to see a boost in downloads after HBO announced The Cast Against Adnan Syed docuseries yesterday that’s been in the works since 2015.
This will be both a follow-up and extension to Serial and catalog everything that’s happened in the aftermath of Adnan’s case going viral in the news. It will also take a look at new evidence and reexamine some of the pivotal moments in Serial:
In production since 2015, THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED closely re-examines the events leading up to Hae Min Lee’s disappearance, from high school romance, forbidden love and cultural conflict, to the aftermath of her disappearance, the original police investigation and the present day, when Syed awaits a new trial. Presenting new discoveries, as well as groundbreaking revelations that challenge the state’s case, and featuring exclusive access to Syed, the defense team, the Syed family, friends and teachers of Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed, and members of City of Baltimore law enforcement, the series traces how the rush to justice and Syed’s conviction in 2000 raised more questions than answers about what happened to Hae Min Lee, underscoring the instability of memory and conflicting eyewitnesses. (via HBO press release)
The timing of this is certainly interesting. Earlier this week, it was reported prosecutors asked Maryland’s highest court to reverse a ruling that grants Adnan Syed a new trial for the 1999 conviction. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh’s office asked the Maryland Court of Appeals to reverse the lower court’s ruling in Adnan’s case. In July 2016, Judge Martin P. Welch ordered a new trial and vacated Adnan’s conviction. On March 29, 2018, Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld the decision to grant a new trial. Now, the Attorney General’s office is trying to stop that from happening.