Life Appeals court denies Adnan Syed a new trial after ‘Serial’ podcast made him famous March 8, 2019 Andrea Mandell, USA TODAY Comments Off on Appeals court denies Adnan Syed a new trial after ‘Serial’ podcast made him famous Adnan Syed, made famous on the podcast "Serial," is serving a life sentence after he was convicted of strangling a 17-year-old in Baltimore in 2000.