Brian Reed first became acquainted with John McLemore of Woodstock back in 2012.

Reed, a producer for weekly public radio show “This American Life” in New York, received an email from McLemore, who complained about Woodstock and the corruption he saw in the Bibb County town. McLemore wanted Reed to investigate an alleged murder that he claimed was covered up by a wealthy family in the area.

“Something has happened,” McLemore says in the opening minutes of “S-Town,” a new podcast set to be released online Tuesday. “Something has absolutely happened in this town. There is just too much little crap for something to not have happened and I’m about had enough of S***town and the things that go on.”

On Tuesday, all seven episodes of “S-Town” will be available online and platforms where podcasts can be downloaded. The show revolves around Reed’s experiences with McLemore, Woodstock and the alleged murder.

However, as the story continues, the focus begins to shift more toward McLemore, who died in 2015, and his own secrets.

“We’re exploring a guy’s life in a place that is like no other place, which can be its own experience,” Reed said.

The show is a collaboration between “This American Life” and “Serial,” a critically acclaimed podcast that debuted in 2014 that has covered a variety of true crime subjects. Leading up to Tuesday, the show's three-minute preview topped the iTunes' podcast chart.

“This story takes so many unexpected turns,” said Ira Glass, creator and host of "This American Life." “Every episode is a new surprise. And the story has this feeling and mood that’s different from anything else we’ve done. I don’t think people have heard a show like this.”

Reed said what drew him to work on “S-Town” was how fascinating he found McLemore and Woodstock to be.

“I’m telling it because I enjoyed getting to know these people and getting to know this place that was as complicated as they were,” Reed said.

Reed, who has worked on “S-Town” since before “Serial” was released, said he did not originally envision “S-Town” as a podcast, but as the story grew, he saw what the show could be.

“After what happened in Chapter Two, we started talking about ‘What is this story?’ ” he said. “It seemed like doing this as a series or a podcast would be a little bit of an experience, like ‘Let’s try to do something that is about this place and these characters that doesn’t have a news angle.’ ”

Reed said having all the episodes released at the same time was an intentional choice he made to have the story become a different experience for listeners.

“We’re kind of fashioning it a bit like a book or a novel,” he said. “I hope that people listen to it that way, like they’re listening to it over the course of a couple of days or a week and it’s like they’re in the middle of it, pause a chapter the way you put a book down and have it embedded in their brain for a bit.”

However, some Woodstock residents are somewhat reticent about how their town will be portrayed in “S-Town.” Woodstock Mayor Jeff Dodson said he believes that Reed and other “S-Town” producers had ulterior motives in making the show.

“I’ve run into several stories where people have an agenda when they ask you one thing but they’re working on another,” Dodson said. “I think you’ll figure that out quick.”

Dodson said the show may have relied too heavily on McLemore, whom he knew from around town.

“If anybody knew John McLemore, would you take him seriously on anything he said about anything?” he said.

Dodson, who has lived in Woodstock for 14 years and was elected mayor in November, has a very different perspective on the town than McLemore.

“It’s just a small town where anybody can go to a ballpark and everybody knows everybody,” he said. “I would never have run for mayor if I didn’t love it.”

Boozer Downs, McLemore’s attorney, said that in hindsight, he wishes he had never taken part in the show.

“My family is now telling that when it comes out and if my name comes out, I will be targeted by nutty people and that I should shut down my Facebook account and eliminate my business website,” he said.

Downs said he is worried the show could put Woodstock in a negative light, especially because of the title.

“If my business is here in this town, I don’t want it to be referred to as 'S-Town,' ” he said.

Ultimately, Reed hopes “S-Town” will have an impact with listeners and that people will form new experiences by listening to the show.

“I hope that people listen to it in weird places while they’re doing things they shouldn’t be doing,” he said. “That would be great to me.”

Reach Drew Taylor at drew.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.