official S-Town podcast thread (Serial fans GTFIH)

[Fedorgasm]

PLEASE USE SPOILER TAGS for anything spoilerish.

S-Town is a new podcast very much in the vein of Serial. Just like Serial, it was made by a staffer who works at This American Life, though it's not Sarah Koenig, so if she was your favorite part of Serial then you'll be disappointed.

When they advertise S-Town they really play up the comparison to Serial, in the hopes that they can share the same audience.

The cool thing about this one is that it's only 7 episodes and they released them all at once, so you can binge listen. The other cool thing about that is that they finished the whole thing before releasing it, so hopefully it has a better ending than Serial.

The basic gist is that there was a murder in a small town, and the murderer's rich parents helped him get off scott free. That's all I know so far as I've only listened to the first 10 minutes of the first podcast. Will post again once I've heard the rest of episode I.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Okay so I finished episode I and all I can say is lower your expectations. It doesn't hook you from the start like Serial or Making a Murderer.

In fact, the main character in the episode, "Jon" is such a douchebag I could barely stand to listen to him for 40 minutes. He's a total redneck hipster. Thick southern accent, but always wants the attention to be on him, wants everyone to know how hard his life is, and how much smarter he is than everyone else. He tries to use big words or drop some uncommon knowledge that he memorized.

Spoiler: Ep I spoiler

I started suspecting right from the start that Jon made up this whole murder story just to get attention. He wanted a reporter from his favorite radio show to come down and see how fascinating of a character he is, and this reporter was playing right into his hands. Thankfully, the reporter by the end of the episode at least FINALLY acknowledges the fact that Jon may be lying, and that he's definitely an attention whore. If not for that one glimmer of hope I don't think I would continue listening.

 

[sh1tehawke]

I'm half way through the second episode and I'm enjoying it so far. That Jon guy is quite the character. Obviously it's not going to play out as a straight murder mystery but I'm intruiged to see where it goes.

 

[Guestx]

Well this one flew right the fuck under the radar.

I was trying to find information on when Serial S3 is going to start and ended up finding this article which talked about a podcast call S-Town. I was like, "What the fuck is S-Town?"

According to the article:

Although S-Town is indeed connected to Serial, it is not Serial Season 3. In fact, the podcast is being narrated by Brian Reed instead of Sarah Koenig. The podcast is, however, the first official spinoff series of Serial, created by Serial Productions. If you’re wanting to listen to Serial, though, you’re going to have to wait quite a while. The premiere of Season 3 might not be until 2018.

S-Town was inspired by a message from an Alabama resident, according to the podcast’s website. The resident, so far known only as “John,” asked a reporter to investigate a wealthy family’s son after he bragged about getting away with murder. Some have guessed that victim being investigated is John Willie Smith, who may have buried $100,000 in gold right before he died.

I haven't checked it out yet but intend to do so soon. For anyone else who is interested, here's the link to the official site:

https://stownpodcast.org

 

[BisexualMMA]

Sweet. About time they made a comeback.

 

[WalkenWouldOwn]

I'm on episode 6.

Its interesting. Nowhere close to the serial season 1 story and mystery, but it's different from other stuff out there and there are some fascinating folks involved. Would recommend.

 

[WalkenWouldOwn]

Also they released the whole thing at the same time, so no waiting week to week.

 

[Guestx]

I'm on episode 6.

Its interesting. Nowhere close to the serial season 1 story and mystery, but it's different from other stuff out there and there are some fascinating folks involved. Would recommend.

I'll probably start ep one when I get in bed tonight and check it out.

Not surprised to hear it's not as good as Serial S1, though I hope it's more interesting than S2.

 

[Crawler89]

better than S2

pretty fun and gripping story

 

[WalkenWouldOwn]

I'll probably start ep one when I get in bed tonight and check it out.

Not surprised to hear it's not as good as Serial S1, though I hope it's more interesting than S2.

It's way better than season 2!

 

[sh1tehawke]

I've finished the first 3 episodes and I'm really enjoying it. It's a lot different from what I was expecting it to be. Quite a bombshell at the end of ep 2!

 

[JAEGERX]

What is this podcast about?

 

[Guestx]

What is this podcast about?

I didn't get it start it last night like I wanted to, but since it's connected to the Serial team, it's probably good.

Did you ever listen to Serial?

 

[Lanx]

Sweet. About time they made a comeback.

I saw 98degrees and O-Town last year at the Broadwalk. If you guys are looking for some easy 30+ drunk females, this the venue to follow!!!, i shit you not, i was the only dude in my section, i was regulated to watching my wifes purse while she went to the front to watch closer, fine with me.

 

[Arkridge]

I listened to episode 1, it was good enough to get me to listen to atleast another 2-3.

 

[JAEGERX]

I didn't get it start it last night like I wanted to, but since it's connected to the Serial team, it's probably good.

Did you ever listen to Serial?

I dont know what that is

 

[Guestx]

I dont know what that is

Say what? You don't know what Serial is?

Serial was, for a little while, the most popular/most downloaded podcast in history. The first season (which is mostly what people mean when they say "Serial") deals with a true crime story of a high school girl who was killed in 1999. Her boyfriend was convicted of the killing but . . . did he really do it? That's what the Serial team wanted to find out, and they did a series on it, releasing episodes week-to-week in real time, i.e. as they were actively investigating, not after the investigation was already done. So no one knew where the story was going to go.

DON'T READ ANYTHING ABOUT Season 1. Just listen to it. It's quite a rabbit's hole. After you're done, there's plenty to read online.

https://serialpodcast.org/

 

[JAEGERX]

Say what? You don't know what Serial is?

Serial was, for a little while, the most popular/most downloaded podcast in history. The first season (which is mostly what people mean when they say "Serial") deals with a true crime story of a high school girl who was killed in 1999. Her boyfriend was convicted of the killing but . . . did he really do it? That's what the Serial team wanted to find out, and they did a series on it, releasing episodes week-to-week in real time, i.e. as they were actively investigating, not after the investigation was already done. So no one knew where the story was going to go.

DON'T READ ANYTHING ABOUT Season 1. Just listen to it. It's quite a rabbit's hole. After you're done, there's plenty to read online.

https://serialpodcast.org/

Cool, thanks for the heads up i was about to start reading

 

[Guestx]

Cool, thanks for the heads up i was about to start reading

Yeah, you do that and you ruin it for yourself.

Plenty of reading to be done after you finished it. It shouldn't take you too long.

 

[Guestx]

One more thing @JaegerIT, don't have any expectations for where the show is going to end up. Just let it go wherever it goes and end where it ends. Like I said, even the creators had no idea where they were going when they started it.