If we are living in a sort of golden age for podcasts, and many believe we are, "Serial" is probably the most masterful of the bunch. They tore down what was there and built their own thing, setting the bar for the vast amount of small-town mysteries that now invade the podcast, and even Netflix, world. Their third season, called "S-Town," is, for this writer, the best season they ever released. Delving into the psyche of John McLemore, who nicknames his Alabama smalltown "Shit Town," McLemore was quite similar to Ethan Hawke's character in "First Reformed," contemplating the deep questions of human existence, which ate him up every minute of every day, building up demons instead of him that were too strong to live with. Hosted by Brian Reed, S-Town was an invigorating, twist-filled endeavor that reinvented what podcasts could be about.
With murder-mysteries all but the hottest thing these days on TV, it's quite surprising that it took this much time for someone to finally adapt one of the seasons of "S-Town" for the silver screen. According to THR, Tom McCarthy is in talks to direct the feature adaptation of the podcast. McCarthy, the man behind "Spotlight" and "The Visitor," will have Playwright Samuel Hunter writing the screenplay for the film.
Synopsis of S-Town:
"The podcast, from Serial and This American Life, follows an Alabama man named John who contacts host Brian Reed to have him investigate a supposed murder by the son of a wealthy family in his hometown, which he openly despises. The story then delves into John's own backstory, filled with everything from clocks buried treasure to a giant hedge maze behind his family home."