Serial season 2 finale finally has an airdate

An official date has been announced, though the real-life court proceedings of Bowe Bergdahl have yet to conclude

Serial placed itself in a tough position when it took on the story of Bowe Bergdahl.

Internationally notorious, the story of the US soldier captured by the Taliban after he walked away from his post in Afghanistan still rumbles onwards; with the congressional investigations currently on hold. surrounding whether Bergdahl will be court-martialled on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

The series, in turn, has discussed multiple perspectives on the issue: from the reasons why he walked away from the base in June 2009, to the details of the exchange of five Taliban prisoners for his release in 2014.

However, Serial doesn't have the luxury of awaiting the final verdict of Bergdahl's legal proceedings; the series must end, with its final episode set for 31 March. Host and executive producer Sarah Koenig has promised that the deaths which occurred in attempts to recover Bergdahl will be addressed in this closing moment.

Entertainment Weekly reported the final air date, with executive producer Julie Snyder explaining; "This has been a different kind of story. It’s a story where, in a lot of ways, a lot of people have agreed on the facts from the very beginning. In that way, it makes it a different kind of way that you’re coming to a conclusion, except that there are these outstanding questions about essentially what can you blame Bowe for. We’re going to go into the heart of that in the final episode."

Season 2 follows on from the sensational debut of Serial, whose first season investigated the murder of Baltimore teen Hae Min Lee and the ex-boyfriend convicted of her murder, Adnan Syed. The popularity of the show was a partial factor in Syed's post-conviction proceedings in February; though the sensitive and high-profile nature of the Bergdahl case means the podcast is incredibly unlikely to have any influence on the proceedings.

The follow-up has, however, been a resounding success; with season 2 surpassing the 50M download mark.