The hit podcast Serial will release new episodes of its second season biweekly, instead of weekly, producers announced on Tuesday.
The change will give staff more time to report on the tale of US army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban for five years, Serial host Sarah Koenig said in a blogpost on Tuesday.
“This story goes in so many directions and as we’re reporting it, we’re getting access to more of the key people close to Bergdahl’s case, and to more information than we initially thought we would,” Koenig said.
The next episode will be released on 21 January, she said.
Koenig said that the show has collected so much new information that they will also be adding an additional episode to the series.
“To do that – or at least to do it right – will take some time,” Koenig said. “Hence the change.”
She said that during the extended break between episodes, Serial will post blogs and graphics about the show.
Serial debuted in 2014, hitting 5m downloads faster than any other podcast in iTunes history.
The first season examined the 1999 murder of Baltimore teen Hae Min Lee and the man convicted of killing her, Adnan Syed. The show poked holes in the prosecution and helped reopen the murder investigation.
Serial’s second season premiered in early December.
Instead of chronicling a relatively unknown murder mystery, the news series follows the world-famous case of Bergdahl, who walked off his post in eastern Afghanistan in 2009. The military charged Bergdahl with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy shortly after he was returned to the US.
Serial season two asks: why did Bergdahl leave?
It uses Bergdahl’s interviews with screenwriter Mark Boal and includes an interview with a Taliban spokesperson.
The third season is planned for this spring. The show is a spin-off of the weekly radio show This American Life.
