Bob CollinsAfter its big hit exploring an otherwise non-descript murder case, “Serial,” the This American Life spinoff podcast has become something of a mystery itself since its producers announced it would be back for a second season.
What case would host Sarah Koenig tackle next?
Maxim thinks it knows: The Bowe Bergdahl case. Bergdahl is the American soldier who disappeared under mysterious circumstances from his base in Afghanistan, spent five years in captivity, was rescued in a trade for five Taliban detainees, and now may face charges of desertion.
Koenig was seen at last week’s hearing and some members of his former unit say the producers of “Serial” have interviewed them, and they’re not all that happy about it.
“I get it that [“Zero Dark Thirty” writer Mark] Boal wants to make a movie and Serial is trying to make a nifty diorama for hipsters to marvel at, but I think it’s the height of crassness for them to do this when it could potentially affect the legal proceedings … I assume it will be a great way to paint us as kooks and sore losers,” one anonymous member is said to have told Maxim.
Serial’s production manager, Emily Condon, meanwhile,is positively cranky about the attention and speculation:
“We’d very much appreciate if fellow journalists would give us some room and not feel the need to attempt to dig into and try to figure out what you think we might be doing, especially since we’re actively reporting stories, and having a bunch of wild speculation out there makes our job reporting harder.
Doesn’t feel very menschy. In any case, here’s what I can tell you: The Serial staff is currently working on several things simultaneously: Season 2, Season 3, and some other podcast projects. For now we’re not talking publicly about anything that we’re working on.”
