Serial, which is a production in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago, became a phenomenon in the United States seemingly overnight, as host Sarah Koenig investigated the guilt or innocence of Adnan Syed, who was accused of murdering his high school girlfriend. It launched the current trend of true crime podcasts and was partially responsible for the increase in popularity of podcasts generally. The show was so influential that Syed was also granted a retrial, which is currently pending.

However, the second season of Serial, which investigated the Bowe Bergdahl case, was agreed to be something of a disappointment. That's likely why it's been two and a half years between the finale of that season and the debut of this new one. The format of the third season will be different than the first two; rather than focusing on a single case, Koenig will be looking at multiple cases over the course of the season as they travel through the criminal justice system of Cleveland, Ohio. The show is specifically looking at the gap between crimes committed and what people were actually punished for.

Those who want to listen to the third season of Serial can do so through their normal podcast listening apps, such as Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. Pandora listeners will be able to listen to the exclusive live stream of the show as it airs; podcast subscribers will be able to download the show after that.