Serial is an investigative journalism podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig, narrating a nonfiction story over multiple episodes. The series was co-created and co-produced by Koenig and Julie Snyder and developed by This American Life. As of July 2020, it is owned by The New York Times.
Overview
Serial debuted on October 3, 2014, as a spinoff of the public radio show This American Life. It is credited with popularizing the true crime podcast genre and was the first podcast to win a Peabody Award (2015). As of September 2018, episodes of seasons 1 and 2 had been downloaded over 340 million times, establishing a podcast world record.
The podcast is produced by Serial Productions, which was formed in 2017 following the launch of S-Town. In 2020, Serial Productions was acquired by The New York Times Company for a reported $25 million.
Seasons
Season 1 (2014)
Season 1 investigated the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old student at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland. Her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was convicted of her murder in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison. The podcast examined the evidence, trial testimony, and raised questions about the conviction. In September 2022, a judge vacated Syed's conviction, citing the prosecution's failure to hand over potentially beneficial evidence. Syed was released after 23 years. In March 2025, a judge reinstated the murder conviction but reduced Syed's sentence, allowing him to remain free while still convicted of first-degree murder.
Season 2 (2015–2016)
Season 2 focused on Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. Army soldier who was held for five years by the Taliban after walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009, and was subsequently charged with desertion. Koenig partnered with screenwriter Mark Boal, who had conducted extensive interviews with Bergdahl.
Season 3 (2018)
Season 3 examined the ordinary operation of the American criminal justice system, focusing on cases within the Justice Center Complex in Cleveland, Ohio. Rather than following one extraordinary case, it explored multiple cases to illustrate systemic issues.
Season 4: Guantánamo (2024)
Season 4 covered the history of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The nine-episode season premiered on March 28, 2024, and was co-hosted by Sarah Koenig and Dana Chivvis. The team interviewed over 100 people, including guards, interrogators, commanders, lawyers, chaplains, translators, and former prisoners.
Production
The concept for Serial originated with an experiment in Koenig's basement. Koenig and Snyder initially pitched a different idea at a This American Life staff meeting, which was received without enthusiasm. When Ira Glass asked Koenig if she had any other ideas, she mentioned podcasting a story that unfolded over time in a serialized narrative.
The show's theme music and original score were composed by Nicholas Thorburn (of the band Islands) and Mark Henry Phillips.
Reception
Serial was both culturally popular and critically well received. It ranked number one on iTunes before its debut and remained there for several weeks. It broke records as the fastest podcast ever to reach 5 million downloads on iTunes. David Carr of The New York Times called it "Podcasting's first breakout hit."
The podcast won a Peabody Award in April 2015, noted as "an audio game-changer" and cited for "its innovations of form and its compelling, drilling account of how guilt, truth, and reality are decided." It also won an Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award (2016), an Edward R. Murrow Award (2017), and multiple Webby Awards.
Related Podcasts
Serial Productions has produced several other notable podcasts, including S-Town (2017), Nice White Parents (2020), The Trojan Horse Affair (2022), The Coldest Case in Laramie (2023), The Retrievals (2023–2024), and The Good Whale (2025).
