Fan donations ensure Serial podcast gets a second season

"Last week, we asked people who’ve been listening to Serial to chip in if they wanted a second season. This American Life funded the bulk of season one, but for Serial to continue, it needs to pay for itself. Today, we have good news: between the money you donated and sponsorship, we’ll be able to make a second season," reads a statement on Serial's website.

The first series has been following investigative reporter Sarah Koenig as she investigates a real-life murder mystery. So far, Koenig has looked into police reports, interviewed witnesses and pondered theories surrounding the murder of Baltimore high-school student Hae Min Lee who was strangled in 1999. Her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed has since been convicted of the killing and is currently serving a life sentence in jail, but maintains his innocence to this day.

When it comes to the second season, there's still no word on what sort of narrative the team will follow. "We don’t know yet what the story will be or exactly when we’ll be airing Season Two, but we’ll be working on it as soon as this season ends," the statement adds.

Since its first episode was released in early October, Serial has gripped listeners and broken records, becoming the fastest-downloaded podcast in iTunes' history. It's currently aired nine of its planned 12 instalments.

Serial is released online every Thursday (excluding Thanksgiving)