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* PrecisionFStrike: In the first episode: "That is not a strategy. That is a fuck-up."
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* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Adnan's friend Stephanie, who is described as beautiful and athletic, is Jay's girlfriend at the time of Hae's murder.
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** The prosecutor Kevin Urick pulls a few questionable moves as well. He finds an attorney for Jay, which Koenig considers an unethical benefit to sway Jan's testimony, and begins shouting at Don when he doesn't portray Adnan as creepy enough in his testimony.
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** "Crime Writers On Serial", one of the many spin off podcasts, pointed out one of the biggest questions raised by the "Adnan is Innocent" angle - If Adnan didn't do it, how did Jay know where Hay's car was?
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** "Crime Writers On Serial", one of the many spin off podcasts, pointed out one of the biggest questions raised by the "Adnan is Innocent" angle - If Adnan didn't do it, how did Jay know where Hay's Hae's car was?
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** "Crime Writers On Serial", one of the many spin off podcasts, pointed out one of the biggest questions raised by the "Adnan is Innocent" angle - If Adnan didn't do it, how did Jay know where Hay's car was?
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* Can'tGetAwayWithNothin': If you believe Adnan is innocent, then his story has real implications of this, as he couldn't have been named as the main suspect in the case if he hadn't had a girlfriend and smoked weed.
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* Can'tGetAwayWithNothin': CantGetAwayWithNuthin: If you believe Adnan is innocent, then his story has real implications of this, as he couldn't have been named as the main suspect in the case if he hadn't had a girlfriend and smoked weed.
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* Can'tGetAwayWithNothin': If you believe Adnan is innocent, then his story has real implications of this, as he couldn't have been named as the main suspect in the case if he hadn't had a girlfriend and smoked weed.
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** Also, if you believe Adnan is innocent, his parents get a heavy dose of this too - your son is dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to answer murder charges against the girl you tried to discourage him from seeing, the community turns against him (and to an extent against your religion) and you are forced to watch him be locked up in a high security prison for nearly 20 years, while he insists he's innocent the entire time.
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*UnreliableNarrator: A running theme of the series.The murder happened almost 20 years ago, so many of the people are hazy on details, actively contradict each other or just can't remember what happened, including Adnan. The series also focuses a great deal on how much Jay's testimony changed between tellings.
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* AdultFear: Whether Adnan did it or not, Hae Min Lee left school one day, disappeared, and her body was found buried in the woods nearly a month later, and an autopsy showed she had been strangled. On a Reddit thread after the series finished, a man claiming to be Hae Min Lee's brother pointed out that to many listeners, Hae Min and Adnan's story is just that, a story, but to her family, it is a horrible reality.
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** In 2015, Adnan Syed was allowed to file a new appeal to allow him to contest the effectiveness of her defense, and argue he deserved a new trial as a result.
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* NoEnding: The first season ends with Sarah Koenig (and her team) convinced that Adnan should not have been found guilty based on the evidence and testimony presented. But he's still in prison, and they're not sure he's ''innocent'', just that the prosecution's case was so flimsy that there's reasonable doubt.
to:
* NoEnding: The first season ends with Sarah Koenig (and her team) convinced that Adnan should not have been found guilty based on the evidence and testimony presented. But he's still in prison, and they're not sure he's ''innocent'', just that the prosecution's case was so flimsy that there's reasonable doubt. doubt.
* NoNameGiven: Koenig attempts to preserve some of the parties' privacy by not naming them or only using one name. However, since court proceedings are public record in the United States, this ultimately proved futile.
* NoNameGiven: Koenig attempts to preserve some of the parties' privacy by not naming them or only using one name. However, since court proceedings are public record in the United States, this ultimately proved futile.
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While not a crucial detail, the fact that multiple podcasts emerged just to talk about ANOTHER podcast gives a good sense of how huge this show became.
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By the time the twelfth and final episode of Season 1 was released on December 19, Serial had become [[http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/18/serial-podcast-itunes-apple-downloads-streams the fastest podcast to hit 5 million downloads]], and was ranked in Apple's top 10 podcasts list globally. ''Serial'', like ''This American Life'', is a production of [=WBEZ=] UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.
to:
By the time the twelfth and final episode of Season 1 was released on December 19, Serial had become [[http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/18/serial-podcast-itunes-apple-downloads-streams the fastest podcast to hit 5 million downloads]], and was ranked in Apple's top 10 podcasts list globally. [[http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/10/24/serial_episode_5_route_talk_podcast_recap_discuss_and_debate_the_latest.html Slate.com]] and [[http://www.avclub.com/article/introducing-serial-serial-v-clubs-new-podcast-abou-211881 The AV Club]] both produced their own podcasts to simply discuss and break down the original podcast. ''Serial'', like ''This American Life'', is a production of [=WBEZ=] UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.
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* NoEnding: There's a very real possibility that the show will never resolve any of the questions around Adnan's case. Most likely it'll resolve in an AmbiguousEnding with the investigation into Adnan's case still ongoing. Least likely is some dramatic exoneration, due to the fact that the case is 15 years old at this point and Adnan has already been convicted, and the evidence/testimony against his, though slim, is still more than enough to keep him in jail.
to:
* NoEnding: There's a very real possibility The first season ends with Sarah Koenig (and her team) convinced that Adnan should not have been found guilty based on the evidence and testimony presented. But he's still in prison, and they're not sure he's ''innocent'', just that the show will never resolve any of the questions around Adnan's case. Most likely it'll resolve in an AmbiguousEnding with the investigation into Adnan's prosecution's case still ongoing. Least likely is some dramatic exoneration, due to the fact was so flimsy that the case is 15 years old at this point and Adnan has already been convicted, and the evidence/testimony against his, though slim, is still more than enough to keep him in jail.there's reasonable doubt.
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* IWontSayImGuilty: Adnan has always claimed his innocence and says that he doesn't remember anything about the events of the day Hae was murdered because to him, it was just a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Before his trial he was offered a plea deal but refused to take it.
to:
* IWontSayImGuilty: Adnan has always claimed his innocence and says that he doesn't remember anything about the events of the day Hae was murdered because to him, it was just a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Before his trial he was offered a plea deal but refused to take it. This has drastically reduced his chances of parole: failure to show remorse means parole is almost always denied.
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* BerserkButton: Adnan wishes that people believe he didn't do it because of the ''evidence'':
---> '''Adnan''': People keep saying, 'Oh, I don't think you did it because you're a nice guy'. And I'm like, 'Great, but that ''doesn't help me''.'"
---> '''Adnan''': People keep saying, 'Oh, I don't think you did it because you're a nice guy'. And I'm like, 'Great, but that ''doesn't help me''.'"
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Fixed typo
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** Another is delivered by one of Hae's old friends: If Adndad didn't do it, who did? One of the biggest questions of the case and the podcast is why there haven't been any real alternate suspects found, or why Jay would burn Adnan if he wasn't involved. [[spoiler: The finale podcast reveals they are attempting to test DNA to link it to a serial killer who was known to be in Baltimore at the time, but everyone involved admits it is a massive longshot.]]
to:
** Another is delivered by one of Hae's old friends: If Adndad Adnan didn't do it, who did? One of the biggest questions of the case and the podcast is why there haven't been any real alternate suspects found, or why Jay would burn Adnan if he wasn't involved. [[spoiler: The finale podcast reveals they are attempting to test DNA to link it to a serial killer who was known to be in Baltimore at the time, but everyone involved admits it is a massive longshot.]]
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'''Koenig:''' Wait, are you saying you don't think I know you at all?\\
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'''Koenig:''' Wait, are you saying you don't think I know you at all?\\all?
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'''Koenig:''' Wait, are you saying you don't think I know you at all?
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'''Koenig:''' Wait, are you saying you don't think I know you at all?all?\\
** Another is delivered by one of Hae's old friends: If Adndad didn't do it, who did? One of the biggest questions of the case and the podcast is why there haven't been any real alternate suspects found, or why Jay would burn Adnan if he wasn't involved. [[spoiler: The finale podcast reveals they are attempting to test DNA to link it to a serial killer who was known to be in Baltimore at the time, but everyone involved admits it is a massive longshot.]]
** Another is delivered by one of Hae's old friends: If Adndad didn't do it, who did? One of the biggest questions of the case and the podcast is why there haven't been any real alternate suspects found, or why Jay would burn Adnan if he wasn't involved. [[spoiler: The finale podcast reveals they are attempting to test DNA to link it to a serial killer who was known to be in Baltimore at the time, but everyone involved admits it is a massive longshot.]]
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* EpicFail: In the finale it is revealed that [[spoiler: the Innocence Project team working on Adnan's behalf may have finally found an alternate suspect: Ronald Lee Moore, a then-active serial killer in the Maryland area. They know he was there because the state of Maryland ''released him by accident'', resulting in at least two known rapes and one murder.]]
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->''"I'm not a detective or a private investigator. I've not even a crime reporter. But every day this year, I've tried to figure out the alibi of a 17-year-old boy. Before I get into why I've been doing this, I just want to point out something I'd never really thought about before I started working on this story. And that is, it's really hard to account for your time..."''
-->--'''Sarah Koenig'''
-->--'''Sarah Koenig'''
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-->--'''Sarah Koenig'''
-->--'''Adnan Syed''', describing the audience.
* AmoralAttorney: One interpretation of Adnan's defense attorney, and the focus of an entire episode.
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* HumanInterestStory: The whole point of the show. Season 1 digs *deep* into Adnan Syed as a person, as well as the personal lives of many other people associated with Adnan.
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* HumanInterestStory: The whole point of the show. Season 1 digs *deep* ''deep'' into Adnan Syed as a person, as well as the personal lives of many other people associated with Adnan.
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* IWontSayImGuilty: Adnan has always claimed his innocence and says that he doensn't remember anything about the events of the day Hae was murdered because to him, it was just a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Before his trial he was offered a plea deal but refused to take it.
to:
* IWontSayImGuilty: Adnan has always claimed his innocence and says that he doensn't doesn't remember anything about the events of the day Hae was murdered because to him, it was just a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Before his trial he was offered a plea deal but refused to take it.
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* OnlyOneName: Jay's last name is not given on the show, to avoid having him harassed in real life.
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* ArmorPiercingQuestion: In Adnan's weekly phone calls to Koenig, he eventually gets irritated at her frequent re-questioning of his account. The response accidentally highlights the difficulty of the entire podcast:
-->'''Adnan:''' What's your interest in this case, really? Why are you doing this?\\
'''Koenig:''' My interest in it honestly has been you. You're a really ''nice'' guy, I like talking to you, you know? So then it's like this question of, "What does that mean" you know?\\
'''Adnan:''' ''(long pause)'' I mean, you don't even really know me though, Koenig! ''(stammers)'' You don't... We only talk on the phone, I don't understand what you mean. It's just weird to hear you say that because, I don't really even know you.\\
'''Koenig:''' Wait, are you saying you don't think I know you at all?
-->'''Adnan:''' What's your interest in this case, really? Why are you doing this?\\
'''Koenig:''' My interest in it honestly has been you. You're a really ''nice'' guy, I like talking to you, you know? So then it's like this question of, "What does that mean" you know?\\
'''Adnan:''' ''(long pause)'' I mean, you don't even really know me though, Koenig! ''(stammers)'' You don't... We only talk on the phone, I don't understand what you mean. It's just weird to hear you say that because, I don't really even know you.\\
'''Koenig:''' Wait, are you saying you don't think I know you at all?
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* TechnologyMarchesOn: Because the murder happened in 1999, some technological evidence that would have been easy to access in 2014 isn't available. For example:
** Cell phones not being widely available to teens at the time, Adnan and Hae Min used mostly pagers to contact each other.
** Adnan's cell phone only kept a record of outgoing calls, since Caller ID hadn't been widely available in cell carriers.
** The Best Buy parking lot had no security cameras, or if it did, they would have recorded onto VHS tapes to be re-used every week.
** Cell phones not being widely available to teens at the time, Adnan and Hae Min used mostly pagers to contact each other.
** Adnan's cell phone only kept a record of outgoing calls, since Caller ID hadn't been widely available in cell carriers.
** The Best Buy parking lot had no security cameras, or if it did, they would have recorded onto VHS tapes to be re-used every week.
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* TechnologyMarchesOn: Because the murder happened in 1999, some technological evidence that would have been easy to access in 2014 isn't available. For example:
** Cell phones not being widely available to teens at the time, Adnan and Hae Min used mostly pagers to contact each other.
** Adnan's cell phone only kept a record of outgoing calls, since Caller ID hadn't been widely available in cell carriers.
** The Best Buy parking lot had no security cameras, or if it did, they would have recorded onto VHS tapes to be re-used every week.
** Cell phones not being widely available to teens at the time, Adnan and Hae Min used mostly pagers to contact each other.
** Adnan's cell phone only kept a record of outgoing calls, since Caller ID hadn't been widely available in cell carriers.
** The Best Buy parking lot had no security cameras, or if it did, they would have recorded onto VHS tapes to be re-used every week.
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By the time the twelfth and final episode of Season 1 was released on December 19, Serial had become [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/18/serial-podcast-itunes-apple-downloads-streams the fastest podcast to hit 5 million downloads], and was ranked in Apple's top 10 podcasts list globally. ''Serial'', like ''This American Life'', is a production of [=WBEZ=] UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.
to:
By the time the twelfth and final episode of Season 1 was released on December 19, Serial had become [http://www.[[http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/18/serial-podcast-itunes-apple-downloads-streams the fastest podcast to hit 5 million downloads], downloads]], and was ranked in Apple's top 10 podcasts list globally. ''Serial'', like ''This American Life'', is a production of [=WBEZ=] UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.
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The first season focuses on the RealLife case of a man named Adnan Syed who was accused and convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in January 1999. Adnan has always maintained his innocence and his family insists he was wrongfully convicted, based on a poor legal defense from his lawyer and a relatively flimsy prosecution: there was no direct evidence tying him to the murder, and he was largely convicted on the testimony of a single witness.
to:
The first season focuses began on October 3, 2014, focusing on the RealLife case of a man named Adnan Syed who was accused and convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in January 1999. Adnan has always maintained his innocence and his family insists he was wrongfully convicted, based on a poor legal defense from his lawyer and a relatively flimsy prosecution: there was no direct evidence tying him to the murder, and he was largely convicted on the testimony of a single witness.
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New episodes are released each Thursday morning. ''Serial'', like ''This American Life'', is a production of [=WBEZ=] UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.
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->''"I'm not a detective or a private investigator. I've not even a crime reporter. But every day this year, I've tried to figure out the alibi of a 17-year-old boy. Before I get into why I've been doing this, I just want to point out something I'd never really thought about before I started working on this story. And that is, it's really hard to account for your time..."''
-->--'''Sarah Koenig'''
-->--'''Sarah Koenig'''
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* IntrepidReporter: Sarah Koenig and the rest of the producers of the show come off as this, especially when she goes into detail about the steps they've taken to research parts of the story.
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'''''Serial''''' is a weekly {{Documentary}}-tyle podcast focusing on non-fiction stories, hosted by Sarah Koenig. It is a spin-off of ''Radio/ThisAmericanLife''. As the name would suggest, the show slowly explores the details of a story week by week, in a serial format, gradually unraveling the details of the case.
to:
'''''Serial''''' is a weekly {{Documentary}}-tyle {{Documentary}}-style podcast focusing on non-fiction stories, hosted by Sarah Koenig. It is a spin-off of ''Radio/ThisAmericanLife''. As the name would suggest, the show slowly explores the details of a story week by week, in a serial format, gradually unraveling the details of the case.
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* SympatheticMurderer: If Adnan really *did* kill Hae and has just been fooling Koenig (and the listeners) then the show's portrayal of him is this.
to:
* SympatheticMurderer: If Adnan really *did* ''did'' kill Hae and has just been fooling Koenig (and the listeners) then the show's portrayal of him is this.
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New episodes are released each Thursday morning. ''Serial'', like ''This American Life'', is a production of [=WBEZ=] Chicago.
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New episodes are released each Thursday morning. ''Serial'', like ''This American Life'', is a production of [=WBEZ=] Chicago.UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.
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!! This show provides examples of:
to:
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[[quoteright:211:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/serial-social-logo_376.png]]
'''''Serial''''' is a weekly {{Documentary}}-tyle podcast focusing on non-fiction stories, hosted by Sarah Koenig. It is a spin-off of ''Radio/ThisAmericanLife''. As the name would suggest, the show slowly explores the details of a story week by week, in a serial format, gradually unraveling the details of the case.
The first season focuses on the RealLife case of a man named Adnan Syed who was accused and convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in January 1999. Adnan has always maintained his innocence and his family insists he was wrongfully convicted, based on a poor legal defense from his lawyer and a relatively flimsy prosecution: there was no direct evidence tying him to the murder, and he was largely convicted on the testimony of a single witness.
In each episode host Sarah Koenig focuses on various aspects of the case, such as the prosecution's timeline of the alleged murder or the suspicious circumstances in which Hae Min's body was found. Woven throughout Koenig's narration are recorded interviews with people who knew Hae and Adnan, recordings from the trial, police recordings from interviews, as well as phone interviews with Adnan ''himself'', calling from the maximum-security prison he's spent most his adult life in. Koenig is also investigating the case and reveals her findings to the listeners as they happen.
New episodes are released each Thursday morning. ''Serial'', like ''This American Life'', is a production of [=WBEZ=] Chicago.
----
!! This show provides examples of:
* ClearTheirName: The general idea of the show. Was Adnan wrongfully convicted? Sarah Koenig initially became interested in the case because a family member of Adnan's family implored her to look into the case; she was soon sucked in and developed an obsession, culminating in the idea for the podcast. Throughout the course of the show, Koenig herself is never fully sure if Adnan is telling the truth or if she's just being played.
* DetectiveDrama: Somewhat of a RealLife example with Sarah Koenig, who's digging into Adnan Syed's murder conviction.
* {{Diary}}: Hae's diary was admitted into evidence for the case, and Sarah Koenig spends an episode going over the various entries in it chronicling Adnan and Hae's relationship.
* DisposingOfABody: According to Jay's testimony, Adnan killed Hae and put her in the trunk of a car. Later on, Adnan and Jay buried her in a park.
* HideTheEvidence: Jay throwing away the clothes he was wearing when he helped to dig the grave for Hae with Adnan.
* HumanInterestStory: The whole point of the show. Season 1 digs *deep* into Adnan Syed as a person, as well as the personal lives of many other people associated with Adnan.
* IfICantHaveYou: Supposedly Adnan's reason to kill Hae. They had dated and then Hae broke up with him. Adnan himself denies this and said there were no hard feelings, and that they had broken up several times already.
* IWontSayImGuilty: Adnan has always claimed his innocence and says that he doensn't remember anything about the events of the day Hae was murdered because to him, it was just a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Before his trial he was offered a plea deal but refused to take it.
* MiscarriageOfJustice: What Adnan and his family insist happen. Adnan has staunchly maintained his innocence and points to the relative lack of any slam-dunk evidence against him. There's also the claim that his original defense lawyer might've intentionally botched the case in order to make more money on the appeal later on.
* NoEnding: There's a very real possibility that the show will never resolve any of the questions around Adnan's case. Most likely it'll resolve in an AmbiguousEnding with the investigation into Adnan's case still ongoing. Least likely is some dramatic exoneration, due to the fact that the case is 15 years old at this point and Adnan has already been convicted, and the evidence/testimony against his, though slim, is still more than enough to keep him in jail.
* NotGoodWithRejection: The prosecution's case for Adnan's motive. Adnan and Hae had been dating in secret (due to not wanting to their families to know) and Hae broke it off with Adnan because she had fallen for someone else. The prosecution says that this drove Adnan into a murderous rage and is why he ultimately killed her. This is backed up in Jay's testimony, where Adnan allegedly told Jay repeatedly that he wanted to kill Hae for rejecting him.
* RedHerring: Tons, since this is a RealLife murder case and thus doesn't have the benefit of TheLawOfConservationOfDetail. It's hard to know what details are important to the case or simply unimportant.
* SympatheticMurderer: If Adnan really *did* kill Hae and has just been fooling Koenig (and the listeners) then the show's portrayal of him is this.
----
'''''Serial''''' is a weekly {{Documentary}}-tyle podcast focusing on non-fiction stories, hosted by Sarah Koenig. It is a spin-off of ''Radio/ThisAmericanLife''. As the name would suggest, the show slowly explores the details of a story week by week, in a serial format, gradually unraveling the details of the case.
The first season focuses on the RealLife case of a man named Adnan Syed who was accused and convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in January 1999. Adnan has always maintained his innocence and his family insists he was wrongfully convicted, based on a poor legal defense from his lawyer and a relatively flimsy prosecution: there was no direct evidence tying him to the murder, and he was largely convicted on the testimony of a single witness.
In each episode host Sarah Koenig focuses on various aspects of the case, such as the prosecution's timeline of the alleged murder or the suspicious circumstances in which Hae Min's body was found. Woven throughout Koenig's narration are recorded interviews with people who knew Hae and Adnan, recordings from the trial, police recordings from interviews, as well as phone interviews with Adnan ''himself'', calling from the maximum-security prison he's spent most his adult life in. Koenig is also investigating the case and reveals her findings to the listeners as they happen.
New episodes are released each Thursday morning. ''Serial'', like ''This American Life'', is a production of [=WBEZ=] Chicago.
----
!! This show provides examples of:
* ClearTheirName: The general idea of the show. Was Adnan wrongfully convicted? Sarah Koenig initially became interested in the case because a family member of Adnan's family implored her to look into the case; she was soon sucked in and developed an obsession, culminating in the idea for the podcast. Throughout the course of the show, Koenig herself is never fully sure if Adnan is telling the truth or if she's just being played.
* DetectiveDrama: Somewhat of a RealLife example with Sarah Koenig, who's digging into Adnan Syed's murder conviction.
* {{Diary}}: Hae's diary was admitted into evidence for the case, and Sarah Koenig spends an episode going over the various entries in it chronicling Adnan and Hae's relationship.
* DisposingOfABody: According to Jay's testimony, Adnan killed Hae and put her in the trunk of a car. Later on, Adnan and Jay buried her in a park.
* HideTheEvidence: Jay throwing away the clothes he was wearing when he helped to dig the grave for Hae with Adnan.
* HumanInterestStory: The whole point of the show. Season 1 digs *deep* into Adnan Syed as a person, as well as the personal lives of many other people associated with Adnan.
* IfICantHaveYou: Supposedly Adnan's reason to kill Hae. They had dated and then Hae broke up with him. Adnan himself denies this and said there were no hard feelings, and that they had broken up several times already.
* IWontSayImGuilty: Adnan has always claimed his innocence and says that he doensn't remember anything about the events of the day Hae was murdered because to him, it was just a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Before his trial he was offered a plea deal but refused to take it.
* MiscarriageOfJustice: What Adnan and his family insist happen. Adnan has staunchly maintained his innocence and points to the relative lack of any slam-dunk evidence against him. There's also the claim that his original defense lawyer might've intentionally botched the case in order to make more money on the appeal later on.
* NoEnding: There's a very real possibility that the show will never resolve any of the questions around Adnan's case. Most likely it'll resolve in an AmbiguousEnding with the investigation into Adnan's case still ongoing. Least likely is some dramatic exoneration, due to the fact that the case is 15 years old at this point and Adnan has already been convicted, and the evidence/testimony against his, though slim, is still more than enough to keep him in jail.
* NotGoodWithRejection: The prosecution's case for Adnan's motive. Adnan and Hae had been dating in secret (due to not wanting to their families to know) and Hae broke it off with Adnan because she had fallen for someone else. The prosecution says that this drove Adnan into a murderous rage and is why he ultimately killed her. This is backed up in Jay's testimony, where Adnan allegedly told Jay repeatedly that he wanted to kill Hae for rejecting him.
* RedHerring: Tons, since this is a RealLife murder case and thus doesn't have the benefit of TheLawOfConservationOfDetail. It's hard to know what details are important to the case or simply unimportant.
* SympatheticMurderer: If Adnan really *did* kill Hae and has just been fooling Koenig (and the listeners) then the show's portrayal of him is this.
----
