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“The Case Against Adnan Syed” will be reopened by HBO this fall as the fifth and final chapter of the docuseries uncovers the truth behind Adnan Syed’s wrongful murder conviction.

The new episode, titled “Part Five: The Tree Grew,” will update viewers on the real-life momentum in the case since the docuseries premiered on HBO in 2019. The docuseries, inspired by discoveries made by the “Serial” podcast, told the story of the 1999 death of Syed’s ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee and his subsequent murder conviction. 23 years into his prison sentence, the final installment of the documentary delves into the continued investigation and the new evidence that pushed the case forward.



The HBO documentary series The Case Against Adnan Syed, which examines an incredibly complicated and controversial murder case, returns for a new episode on September 18, 2025. “Part Five: The Tree Grew” picks up the case following the appearance of a new suspect and news of undisclosed evidence.

Directed by Oscar nominee Amy J. Berg, the new episode features interviews with Adnan Syed; Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby; attorney and Syed family friend, Rabia Chaudry; attorney for Adnan Syed, Erica J. Suter; attorneys Susan Simpson and Becky Feldman; Syed’s mother, Shamim Rahman, and brother, Yusef Syed.

HBO offers this lengthy description of Part 5:

“‘Part Five: The Tree Grew’ captures...

The Case Against Adnan Syed launched in 2019 and told the story of the 1999 murder of high school student Hae Min Lee, and the arrest and conviction of Syed, who was her ex-boyfriend at the time.

The documentary series is now getting a new episode – six years later – to investigate new evidence in the case, which exploded into the public consciousness with the success of the Serial podcast.

The episode – “Part Five: The Tree Grew” – directed by Amy J. Berg will premiere on Thursday September 18.

It will chronicle the turns in the case that unfold after a suspect from the original investigation into Lee’s murder is caught assaulting a woman. This development led Syed’s legal team to revisit the case and demand a new investigation. When the state attorney’s office steps in, the prosecution pushes back, resulting in a legal and political tug of war that thrusts Adnan’s case into chaotic uncertainty.

A lot has changed since HBO’s The Case Against Adnan Syed (2019) — like, for starters, a global pandemic. But then again, Donald Trump was president of the United States then and he is again now. Also, The Case Against Adnan Syed is back on TV. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I suppose.

Oh, but this time, the Adnan Syed documentary series is also streaming on HBO Max, which didn’t exist in time for the first four parts. (HBO Now did, which gave way to HBO Max, which became Max and is now back to HBO Max — it’s a whole thing.)

Anyway, The Case Against Adnan Syed is back with “Part Five: The Tree Grew” on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 9 p.m. Et on HBO and HBO Max. The first four chapters are available to stream on HBO Max.

Amy J. Berg remains writer-director. She...

Creator-first podcast network, Rhapsody Voices, announced the launch of brand new podcasts from two top creators in the field – The Mystery Hour with Rabia Chaudry and Around the World with Geoff from YouTube sensation, Geography by Geoff.

With hundreds of millions of downloads, Rabia Chaudry is well known for making a splash in the podcast space. Undisclosed, Rabia and Ellyn Solve the Case and Nighty Night are just a few examples of her success in the field, dating back to 2015. Mystery Hour, however, sees Chaudry partner up with award-winning, long-running suspense magazines. Ellery Queen's and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazines are working with Chaudry as she dives into and narrates contemporary crime-fiction stories evocative of the Master of Suspense.

“I grew up with the The Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen Mystery magazines and bringing their stories to life is a many years long dream for me! Rhapsody has been...

PodcastOne (Nasdaq: Podc), a leading podcast platform and a subsidiary of LiveOne (Nasdaq: Lvo), which owns 80% of the Podc common stock, announced today that it has acquired the exclusive multiyear sales and distribution rights to New York Times best-selling author and attorney Rabia Chaudry’s and actress Ellyn Marsh’s true crime genre podcast, Rabia & Ellyn Solve the Case. Chaudry, who initiated the worldwide sensation podcast Serial and served as an Executive Producer on the HBO documentary series The Case Against Adnan Syed and Marsh, who starred on Broadway in Enron and Kinky Boots, host the weekly show.

Everyone has a true crime story they're obsessed with solving. Join true-crime experts, Chaudry and Marsh, along with special celebrity guests as they break down their favorite true crime cases. With Chaudry’s legal expertise and Marsh’s comedic wit, you’ll be seeing these cases in a whole new light. Launched...

PodcastOne (Nasdaq: Podc), a leading podcast platform and a subsidiary of LiveOne (Nasdaq: Lvo), announced that is has obtained the exclusive distribution and sales rights to the podcast Nighty Night hosted by New York Times best-selling author and attorney Rabia Chaudry (Adnan’s Story).

Chaudry, who also served as an Executive Producer on the HBO documentary series “The Case Against Adnan Syed” based on the life of her childhood friend, joins PodcastOne with her Nighty Night podcast, an anthology of bone-chilling bedtime stories that will be sure to keep you wide awake all night. The creepy tales will be a mix of both original content and lesser known classics delivered with a modern spin. Since its launch in late 2021, Nighty Night has released forty-one nightmare inducing episodes.

“We have been long-time fans of Rabia, for her work as an esteemed podcast host and for her work as a revered advocate.

The popular true crime talk show Rabia and Ellyn Solve the Case has signed an exclusive agreement with Rhapsody Voices for sales representation, distribution and creative strategy. The hosts, Rabia Chaudry and Ellyn Marsh, are no strangers to the podcast world with multiple successful podcasts between the two of them, including Undisclosed and I Think Not. Launched last October, Solve the Case became an instant success with a massive Times Square billboard, thousands of reviews and debuting at the top of the podcast charts.

After a short summer hiatus, the show will re-launch under new representation with Rhapsody Voices, a new network which strives to provide turn-key services and a close knit partnership approach to all shows.

Though this partnership was just announced, major changes are already planned for fans of Solve the Case upon the show’s re-launch in September. The first of which is its expansion into video...

Update, with new attorney statement: Erica J. Suter, attorney for Adnan Syed, says today’s Maryland appellate court decision to reinstate the Serial subject’s convictions in the murder case of Hae Min Lee was based not on Syed’s guilt or innocence but rather on procedural issues “about notice and mootness.”

Furthermore, she said in a statement, “There is no basis for re-traumatizing Adnan by returning him to the status of a convicted felon.” She added, “For the time being, Adnan remains a free man.”

The attorney pledged to take the matter to the Supreme Court of Maryland.

Suter, Assistant Public Defender and Director of the Innocence Project Clinic at University of Baltimore Law School, said today’s revocation of last year’s decision by Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn to vacate Syed’s 2000 murder conviction “was not about Adnan’s innocence but about notice and mootness.”

“The...

Prosecutors have officially dropped all charges against Adnan Syed, the Baltimore man made famous after being featured in the first season of popular podcast “Serial.”

The decision comes three weeks after Syed — who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 2000 — had his murder conviction overturned by Judge Melissa Phinn of Baltimore City Circuit Court. In her ruling, which came after prosecutors filed a motion to vacate the conviction, Phinn said the decision came after she determined that the prosecutors on the initial trial failed to turn in evidence to the court that pointed to two additional suspects and would have significantly helped Syed’s case.

Immediately following the ruling, Syed was released from prison after serving 23 years, since he was 18. Although prosecutors recommended that Syed be given a new trial in their initial motion, the dropping of charges ensures that Syed will not undergo another trial.

Syed...

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“In comedy we talk a lot about ‘pushing the envelope,’ ” says Hasan Minhaj. “But sometimes the envelope pushes back.” He’s talking about the now-infamous episode of Patriot Act, his Peabody Award-winning talk show, that took aim at Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s alleged involvement in the Jamal Khashoggi murder. The full story behind that episode — which Netflix pulled from Saudi Arabia after receiving a legal threat — is one of the main topics of Minhaj’s new stand-up special, The King’s Jester (Netflix, Oct. 4). “For me, this whole special was an exploration of how I can clearly define what I’m willing to say now.”

The former Daily Show correspondent, 37, worked with director and Patriot Act co-creator Prashanth Venkataramanujam on the hourlong special. Jester began as what Minhaj describes as “comedy vomit,” coming to life through small pop-up shows...

HBO Documentary Films is in production on a follow-up episode to the critically acclaimed, four-part docuseries The Case Against Adnan Syed. Directed by Amy Berg, the episode will feature exclusive access to Syed leading up to and following his release from prison earlier this week, after 23 years behind bars. The new episode will debut in 2023.

Syed’s prosecution in the 1999 killing of his high school girlfriend Hae Min Lee was examined in minute detail in the massively popular 2014 season of the hit podcast Serial. The docuseries premiered in March 2019 and is currently available on HBO Max.

Berg has been filming the follow-up episode in Maryland since early 2021. Most recently, Berg was in the courthouse Tuesday when Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn approved the motion to vacate Syed’s murder conviction. The investigation from the original series was referenced as evidence in the hearing.

New Adnan Syed Prosecution Is “Remote...

The Case Against Adnan Syed (Photo Courtesy of HBO)

HBO’s four-part documentary series The Case Against Adnan Syed will expand to five parts following the release of Syed from prison. HBO confirmed production is now underway on a follow-up episode which will include exclusive footage with Adnan Syed leading up to and following his release.

The original docuseries director Amy Berg (an Oscar nominee for Deliver Us from Evil) returns to helm the new episode which is targeting a 2023 premiere.

Berg, who’s been working on the fifth episode since early 2021, was in Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn’s courtroom when the motion to vacate Syed’s murder conviction was announced. Details revealed in the four-part docuseries were used as evidence in support of the ruling.

“We knew the end of The Case Against Adnan Syed was not the end of this story, and we’ve been closely...

After Adnan Syed was released from prison on Sept. 19 after serving 23 years for the murder of Hae Min Lee, HBO Documentary Films announced it is in production on a follow-up episode to its 2019 docuseries “The Case Against Adnan Syed,” set for release in 2023.

Directed by Amy Berg, the four-part series followed the killing of 18-year-old Lee and the trial and conviction of Syed, her ex-boyfriend. Berg has been filming the follow-up episode in Maryland since early 2021 and was in the courthouse Monday when a Baltimore judge approved the motion to vacate Syed’s murder conviction. The investigation from “The Case Against Adnan Syed” was referenced as evidence in this week’s hearing.

“We knew the end of ‘The Case Against Adnan Syed’ was not the end of this story, and we’ve been closely following every twist and turn in the case since the series premiered in March 2019,” Berg said.

Adnan Syed, the subject of both the 2014 hit podcast “Serial” and HBO’s 2019 docuseries “The Case Against Adnan Syed” could soon be a free man, on the advice of prosecutors.

State attorneys in Baltimore moved Wednesday to vacate Syed’s 2000 conviction for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee and request a new trial, the Baltimore Sun reported. They also asked he be released pending new developments.

A yearlong investigation conducted by the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office and Syed’s attorney Erica Suter concluded that the prosecution are guilty of a number of Brady Violations, failure to disclose potentially exculpatory information to Syed’s defense attorneys. They were not made aware there were two additional suspect in the case, including one who had threatened Lee, saying “he would make her disappear. He would kill her,” the motion states.

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