Page 67 - Time Magazine-November 05, 2018

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TRUE CRIME
Serial and Making

a Murderer seek
redemption in sequels

By Eliana Dockterman

eason 3 of The True-crime podcasT Serial
doesn’t explore any brutal murders where the
facts don’t add up. Its subjects aren’t famous.
SThey can’t afford expensive defense attorneys
who dramatically unearth DNA evidence. Instead, they’re
bar brawlers, parole violators and people caught carrying
a joint. These cases rarely make the news, though some
should, like the story of an innocent man who was pulled
over and beaten by a cop for—by the police officer’s own
admission—no reason. They are simply the tales of ordi-
nary people who pass through Cleveland’s courthouse.
It’s a conscious change for a podcast that became
a pop-culture phenomenon in 2014 by examining the
murder of Baltimore teen Hae Min Lee, allegedly at the
hands of her classmate Adnan Syed. The podcast’s new
direction also diverges from most shows in true-crime
drama, which can tend toward the salacious even when
trying to educate or effect change. Making a Murderer,
for instance, earned a rabid fan base in 2015 when it
took on the story of Steven Avery, a man who has been △ In one episode, Koenig interviews a
convicted twice and exonerated once. Both Serial and Steven Avery became judge who regularly says he will put pa-
a cult figure after the
Making a Murderer faced backlash for lending a too- runaway success of rolees in jail if they have a child out of
sympathetic ear to potential perpetrators. The two Netflix’s Making a wedlock. It’s a jaw-dropping, unconsti-
shows have since taken different paths: Making a Mur- Murderer in 2015— tutional condition. But judges and law-
derer returned to Netflix in October to follow Avery’s though he remains yers in Cleveland respond with a shrug:
appeals process in new episodes, while Serial has wisely incarcerated declarations like this are unfortunate
ventured into new territory. but inevitable.
Serial host Sarah Koenig addresses the pivot in the Filmmakers have long raced to docu-
first episode of the new season, which premiered in Sep- ment sensational crimes. But in recent
tember. “People have asked me, ‘What does [Syed’s] years, some journalists have begun to
case tell us about the criminal-justice system?’” she says. rigorously examine the more quotid-
“Fair question. The answer is that cases like that one, ian injustices that often go ignored by
they are not what fills America’s courtrooms every day.” the media. Tales of serial killers feel less
As local news organizations fold under financial bur- pressing than the larger narrative of
dens, courthouse beat reporters have become increas- racist and classist biases that pervade
ingly rare. True-crime storytellers now have the oppor- the justice system. Serial’s third season
tunity to step in and report on the daily miscarriages suggests that storytellers might be bet-
of justice in order to examine the systemic problems in ter served examining ordinary cases,
our legal system. Serial landed in Cleveland by happen- not extraordinary ones. “We’re talking
stance: the city, unlike others, allows microphones in its about a criminal-justice system in cri-
courtrooms. But the Ohio metropolis represents every sis,” says Snyder. “We feel a duty to ex-
town. “We tried to look for a place that wasn’t extraordi- plore how that system actually works.”
nary in any way,” producer Julie Snyder tells TIME.
Compared with the first season of Serial—which All true-crime entertAinment
broke streaming records, spawned Reddit conspiracy exists on a sliding scale. Some shows,
theories and earned a Saturday Night Live parody—the like the popular podcast My Favorite
show’s third season sounds like homework. But the ba- Murder, shamelessly mine tragic tales
nality with which judges and lawyers change the course to fulfill our most voyeuristic desires;
of people’s lives proves fascinating—and disturbing. others have loftier goals. The second
88 Time November 5, 2018