Full Trailer for THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED

Back in 2014 we all got a little obsessed with the podcast Serial, which was spending its first season reinvestigating the 1999 murder of a teenager named Hae Min Lee, hoping to find proof that would exonerate her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed. The podcast reignited interest in the case, fans spun theories out of the unchecked alibis and inconsistent stories of people on the periphery of the case, and ultimately, Adnan Syed was granted a new trial. (It should be noted that the new trial was granted through the legal appeals process, not because some judge was a fan of the podcast and just randomly thought, “Let’s give this mother another shot!”)

While I think that Serial was an honest attempt to get to the truth of the case, the project began after Sarah Koenig was approached by Adnan’s friend’s sister, Rabia Chaudry, who believed that Syed was innocent, and the podcast is seen as being very sympathetic to Adnan. Now there is a new four part documentary series coming to HBO, and it is less so. It’s called The Case Against Adnan Syed, and it premieres on March 10. It is from Amy Berg, who directed The Memphis Three doc West of Memphis. We have a full trailer for it, and it looks like it maybe does a better job of centering Hae Min Lee in the story. She sometimes felt forgotten in Serial. Lee’s family participated in this one after declining to be part of the podcast. I can only imagine how painful the frenzy over the case has been for them.

I have to admit that I got very caught up in Serialmania, but at some point I was reading a somewhat outlandish fan theory about how Jay was the real killer when I realized that these are real people with real lives, not characters in a drama. None of this exists for my entertainment. That said, I will probably watch this documentary because I am still intensely curious about what really happened. I’ll feel conflicted about it though.

The Case Against Adnan Syed brings a “fresh eye to the case and offers interviews with key players, many of whom were not featured in the original podcast. Bringing the story to life visually, she revisits the crime and follows unfolding developments from 2014 to today. The series presents new information that questions the state’s case, and draws on exclusive access to essential characters, including new audio recordings of Syed from prison, the defense team, the Syed family, friends and teachers of Hae Min Lee, private investigators and members of Baltimore City law enforcement, examining how Syed’s trial and subsequent conviction in 2000 raised as many questions as they answered.”