Rumor Has It: Second Season of Serial Will Focus on Bowe Bergdahl’s Case

Last year, the podcast “Serial” by Sarah Koenig captivated the country. Since the end of the first season, it was made explicit that a second season was in the works. Now, rumor and speculation have it that the second season will focus on the infamous case of Bowe Bergdahl, a solider who was accused of desertion in Afghanistan and brought home in a high-profile prisoner swap. Bergdahl is now on trial for his supposed crimes–and apparently “Serial” is right there with him.

This rumor about Bergdahl comes from a Maxim piece that attributes the news to anonymous sources. The piece stated:

Last week, a preliminary hearing for Bergdahl’s case was held at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to determine if the former POW will be tried in a court-martial. According to someone present at the hearing, Serial host Sarah Koenig and at least one of the show’s producers were in spotted in the courtroom.

Also present was screenwriter Mark Boal, who wrote Zero Dark Thirty. Boal’s company, Page 1 Productions, has apparently been working on bringing Bergdahl’s story to the big screen ever since his release, and several anonymous sources familiar with the production tell Maxim that Boal has provided the Serial team with research material, including taped interviews with Bergdahl.

The piece mentioned that “Serial” had reportedly spoken to former members of Bergdahl’s unit as well.

Given these pieces of information–as juicy and gossipy as they may be–it seems pretty clear that “Serial” season 2 will focus on Bergdahl. But that makes for an interesting juxtaposition. The first season focused on case that, save those who have an excellent memory and resided in the greater Baltimore area in the late ’90s, no one really knew about. There was plenty of local media coverage, but prior to “Serial,” the names Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee were cloaked in a reasonable level of anonymity.

On the other hand, Bowe Bergdahl’s story made national and international news when he was brought back to the United States last summer. Bergdahl maintains that he was captured and held hostage by the Taliban, but some of his fellow soldiers claim that he walked away deliberately. His trial will explore who is telling the truth; if found guilty Bergdahl could be looking at a life sentence.

It will be interesting to see if the differences between the two cases affect the production and reception of the podcast. While many “Serial” listeners quickly developed their own theories about Syed’s guilt or innocence, for the most part the only information they had was disseminated through Koenig and the show. But in Bergdahl’s case, many will have already made up their minds, given the level of coverage it has already received. One thing is for sure, however: if it’s anything like “Serial” season 1, it will certainly keep listeners enthralled.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.