Entertainment

This News About HBO's 'Serial' Doc Will Have True Crime Fans Clearing Their Diaries

by Aoife Hanna

When HBO announced that they were intending to make a documentary about Adnan Syed and the murder of Hae Min Lee, true crime fans across the globe let out a collective gasp. If you know, then you know. But if you don't know: the murder of Lee and the man convicted of the crime, Syed, were the subject a podcast named Serial, which went global in a matter of weeks. Listeners all over the world were completely hooked on the show, which was produced by podcasting powerhouse The American Life. Here's how to watch HBO's Serial documentary, The Case Against Adnan Syed.

Good news for anybody who has Sky, because the entire four-part documentary is going to premiere on Sky Atlantic and Now TV on April 1, the Independent reports. The Case Against Adnan Syed is a documentary developed by HBO and Sky, and has been described as "a new chapter," the Radio Times reports. The documentary will pick up where Serial left off, and will include interviews with friends and teachers of the victim, Lee, as well as with Syed, his legal team, and his family, the Independent reports. So this really is a whole new look at a not-so-new case.

Two decades ago, a young woman called Hae Min Lee was murdered. Her body was found in 1999, the Guardian reports, and her ex boyfriend Syed was arrested and later convicted of murder. Syed — who denies killing Lee — was sentenced to life plus 30 years behind bars, which he is still serving to this day.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Back in March 2018, Syed was granted another trial on the grounds of "ineffective assistance at his trial," CBS reported at the time. "In a 2-1 ruling, the three-judge appeals court panel agreed with Syed's current lawyer that his trial lawyer was ineffective for failing to investigate a potential alibi witness who said she saw Syed at a public library at the time the state claimed Syed killed Hae," CBS wrote.

Later that year, in May, the Attorney General's (AG) office filed a petition with the Court of Special Appeals (CoSA) asking to appeal the decision made in March. In January 2019, the CoSA agreed to hear the AG's appeal, The Week reports.

While HBO's The Case Against Adnan Syed will continue to look into the Syed case, it is reported that the show's creators have gone to great lengths to ensure there is a spotlight on Lee and her story. As Baltimore magazine explains:

"Perhaps its greatest strength is the complete picture it paints of many lives impacted by the case, including the one often lost in discussion of the new developments: Lee herself. Berg has taken great care to bring Hae Min Lee’s voice into the story, using her journal and animation to make Lee feel present in her own story, even though she can no longer speak for herself."

Watch The Case Against Adnan Syed on Sky Atlantic and Now TV on April 1