HBO has released a trailer for its upcoming four-part documentary, produced by Jemima Khan’s production company, ‘The Case Against Adnan Syed’. “If you loved the SERIAL podcast (This American Life), here’s the trailer for our @InstinctLtd 4-part doc series series, The Case Against Adnan Syed, directed by the brilliant Amy Berg @disarmingfilms … coming soon on @HBO @HBODocsJemima,” Khan Tweeted.
The enthralling podcast debuted to an instantly obsessed audience and follows producer and presenter, Sarah Koenig’s re-investigation of the long cold case of a high-school teen, Hae Min Lee and the ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed convicted of her murder on apparently thin evidence. It was one depressing but incredibly compelling story told week-by-week in a free online radio show; the case is now being turned into a documentary, thanks to Khan’s production company.
The new series will reportedly include “new discoveries, as well as groundbreaking revelations that challenge the state’s case.”
The HBO trailer prominently features Syed’s family friend, Rabia Chaudry, who brought the case to “Serial” host and former Baltimore Sun reporter Sarah Koenig. “When you are working on a case that you think is a wrongful conviction, you’re only on one side, and that side is getting to the truth,” Chaudry says in the trailer.
Per its official synopsis, the series “will offer a cinematic look at the life and 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and conviction of Adnan Syed, from the genesis of their high school relationship, to the original police investigation and trial, through to the current day, when Syed faces a new trial after serving 18 years in jail.” The series also includes “exclusive access to Adnan Syed, his family and his lawyers,” as Berg “has been closely following their efforts to obtain justice, with the outcome still to be determined – and possibly shaped by the investigation pursued within the series itself.”
Published in Daily Times, February 8th 2019.