Serial, the hugely popular, award-winning podcast from This American Life & Chicago public radio station WBEZ, returns to tell a brand new true crime crime story later this year. In an email to subscribers, investigative journalist and Serial host Sarah Koenig confirmed that season two will land this fall and a third season will follow shortly thereafter in Spring 2016; italics added for extra emphasis and extreme excitement. In the message to Serial listeners picked up by Bustle, Koenig reiterates that season one’s arc involving Adnan Syed and the death of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee will not carry over into the new seasons.
We are hard at work reporting not one, but two distinct new stories. This means we’re planning on a third season of Serial. And we hope it means we can reduce the amount of time between the end of Season Two and the beginning of Season Three. As it stands, we intend to launch Season Two this fall and Season Three next spring. Sorry – we can’t tell you details about the new stories yet. What we can say is that they’re very different from Season One, but no less interesting to us.
In addition to announcing news of a third season coming next spring, Koenig commented on the latest news surrounding the case she covered in season one. Spoilers follow. Serial‘s popularly and the way in which in shed light on Adnan Syed’s case has led the Maryland Court of Special Appeals reconsider the facts in lower court. In other words, the case has been remanded and there’s a glimmer of hope that Syed could be freed from his life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee. Koenig’s latest comments follow:
“The appeals court’s order does not mean Adnan will get a new trial. Nor does it mean that the circuit has to agree to hear Asia’s testimony. But with this order, the appeals court has certainly cracked open a door. And anytime a court opens a door to new testimony — new fact-finding — that’s a big deal for the appellee. In other words, good news for Adnan. It’s likely that once the Asia issue gets sorted out in circuit court, the Court of Special Appeals will take up the case again.”
Last, Koenig is going on tour with Serial producer-in-crime Julie Snyder to discuss all things Serial. More specifically, “using some of their favorite tape, they’ll tell personal behind-the-scenes stories, explain how they constructed certain episodes, and allow the audience to follow the ups and downs of creating a new form of modern journalism.” See tour dates and links to get tickets after the break.
June 6: Wolf Trap, Vienna, Va. (evening lecture with Koenig and Snyder)
June 10: The Bushnell Theatre, Hartford, Conn. (Koenig and Snyder)
August 1: Long Center, Austin, Texas (evening lecture with Koenig)
August 2: Podcast Movement 2015, Fort Worth, Texas (Koenig)
August 3: AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas (Koenig)
September 9: Writers Center Stage Series, Cleveland (Koenig and Snyder)
September 25: BAM, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Koenig and Snyder)