Season Two is a story a gazillion people have heard about: “the story of Bowe Bergdahl”, Serial’s Sarah Koenig wrote.
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“Serial” is back – with a new subject and a new theme song.
Season 2 lets Bergdahl tells his side of the story, about how he left his base carrying just vacuum-packed chicken, knives, water and a compass, and ended up in captivity under the Taliban for five years. While last year’s series focused on the real-life case of Adnan Syed, this season will revolve around an accused military deserter, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
“Suddenly, it really starts to sink in that I really did something bad”, he continued.
Screenwriter Mark Boal, who is conducting research for a movie, recorded the interviews with Bergdahl and agreed to let “Serial” use them.
“He has a definite point of view about hit-and-run TV reporting, and so this was the opposite of that”. He was exchanged for five Taliban prisoners, who were returned to Afghanstan. Sgt Bergdahl says he was not deserting, but was instead attempting to report problems with army leadership. “I would wake up not even remembering what I was”, he said. That season was downloaded by millions of listeners and the podcast resulted in the case being reopened on grounds that Syed’s legal team provided ineffective counsel. Bergdahl is awaiting word on whether he’ll face a court martial.
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“Serial”, which was created by Koenig – This American Life producer and former Baltimore Sun reporter – shattered records when it was released last fall, becoming the most popular podcast of all time.
