LibraryNowPlayMechanicsMCP

Kinds

Campaign382Product101Food & drink28App & software56Film61Series72Music61Game116Book36Creator moment58Meme & format111Trend & aesthetic38Activity60Moment100
PricingPrivacyTermsRefundsPress
Library/Series/Serial (podcast)
Grade B23 sourcesHIS-01286

Serial (podcast)

Series · 2014 · Notable

42Editable slideCertificate

Serial became the fastest podcast to reach 5m iTunes downloads and streams.

Official Serial cover artwork from This American Life; no victim imagery.
This American Life / Serial
Adnan Syed's high-school photo, the art for 'The Alibi', Serial's first episode.
This American Life / WBEZ at launch; The New York Times since 2020
Serial's Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder with Ira Glass.
Mother Jones
Serial host Sarah Koenig.
TIME
Sarah Koenig at a studio microphone.
TIME
Sarah Koenig and the Serial production team accepting their Peabody Award; CC BY 2.0.
The Peabody Awards / Wikimedia Commons
A wall of handwritten case notes.
Engadget

Spread Score

How it works
ReachNo data yetContagionNo data yetBreadth60Velocity17Longevity4142

Numbers

Seed to observed peak
3 months
Oct 3 ’14 to Dec 18 ’14
Platforms
6
Started on Audio
Origin
Seeded
Media & publishing

Mechanics

  • Mystery & lorePrimary
  • Fandom mobilisation
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop
  • Controversy

How it spread

Trace the origin

Serial launched through This American Life, then drew Reddit investigations, Twitter discussion and television parodies. Donations and sponsorship funded another season. A court vacated Syed’s conviction in 2022.

Observed peak within the documented measurement window; not an all-time maximum.

Google searchesJun ’14OctDecFeb ’15JunDec ’16Jun ’18Dec ’19Mar ’21DecOct ’22Observed peakPressAudioRedditTVXOpen web
PressAudioRedditTVXOpen web

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (16)

  1. September 2014

    Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder precursor · Sep 19 ’14

    Koenig and Snyder previewed the podcast in a Mother Jones interview before its announced October launch.[1]

    Serial's Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder with Ira Glass.
    Open the first post ↗

  2. October 2014

    This American Life / Sarah Koenig seed · Oct 3 ’14

    This American Life aired The Alibi as Serial released its first two episodes.[2][3][4][5]

    Adnan Syed's high-school photo, the art for 'The Alibi', Serial's first episode.

  3. Slate / Ben Mathis-Lilley press · Oct 3 ’14

    Slate reviewed the podcast on its launch day.[5]

  1. platform jump · Nov 12 ’14

  2. commercial · Nov 18 ’14

Join free to see the other 13 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

or continue with Google

Why it worked

Do this

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

Pro opens the playbook, all 11 sourced numbers and 23 sources. Start with a free account.

Join freeGo Pro
Origin
Seeded
Sector
Media & publishing
Region
US
Reported figure
—
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

Creator moment · Reddit · 202234

Nier: Automata Secret Church

DevolasRevenge, Woeful_Wolf and RaiderB

A fake Nier: Automata discovery drew over 3 million views on one Twitter repost.

1 / 8

  • Nier: Automata Secret Church
  • 13 Reasons Why
  • Baby Reindeer
  • Making a Murderer
  • Bodyguard
  • Stranger Things
  • Game of Thrones
  • Yellowjackets

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.