HBO is developing the third season of the successful podcast “Serial” as a limited series, with LeBron James on board the project as executive producer.
The potential series will examine the criminal justice system in operation in Cleveland, Ohio. Following a young police officer and the man he is accused of beating, he delves into the inner workings of an American court and how the system affects every person he touches: police, lawyer and citizens accused and victimized by crimes.
Shola Amoo is hired to write, direct and produce an executive. James will serve as executive producer under his SpringHill Company banner, along with Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson and Eric Oberland. Sarah Koenig, Emmanuel Dzotsi and Alissa Shipp of Serial Productions will also serve as executive producers alongside Kary Antholis for Crime Story Media, LLC.
If the project is for the series, it would not be the first time that “Serial” would be brought to HBO. The premium cabler already aired the documentary series “The Case Against Adnan Syed” in March 2019. Syed’s case was the subject of the first season of the podcast.
The SpringHill Company is a global consumer and entertainment brand. It brings together three companies built by James and Carter: Ininterrupted, the media and consumer products company for athlete training, SpringHill Entertainment, the television and film production company with premium and non-premium scripts; and The Robot Company, brand and culture consultancy.
Previously, Amoo wrote and directed the feature film “The Last Tree”, which premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the Sundance Film Festival 2019. The semi-autobiographical film follows Femi, a British-Nigerian boy who moves out of a foster family in a white rural community to live with his mother in central London, and learn what it means to be a young black man in London in the early 2000s. His other credits include the films “A moving image” and the feature film Searchlight “Sting Like a Bee: Muhammed Ali vs. The United States of America”.
Amoo is represented by CAA and Curtis Brown in the United Kingdom. Serial Productions is represented by UTA. SpringHill Company is represented by WME and Ziffren Brittenham. Crime Story Media, LLC is represented by WME.