The suspect's little brother believes he is innocent, but was he old enough at the time of the crime to know what really happened? In our version, he's played by Jacob Loffland.

The suspect has to be young and charming enough that the audience wants him to be innocent, but is never really sure if he is or not. We suggest British actor Billy Howle.

Reporter Sarah Koenig was the star of Serial. As the host, she became the audience's eyes and ears. Her doubts were our doubts, and we believed the facts she presented. We imagine Serial-the-television-series will have a similar reporter at its core. Someone who seems balanced and trustworthy. Someone like The Leftovers's Carrie Coon.

Everyone needs a friend to bounce ideas (or suspicions) off of: Sarah Koenig had producer and co-creator Julie Snyder; we think Carrie Coon's character should have a reporter's assistant played by Martha Plimpton.

Unfortunately, "innocent until proven guilty" is often interpreted as "innocent only if someone else is proven guilty." For the audience to believe that the suspect could be innocent, there needs to be a viable alternate suspect. We suggest Jason Mitchell, who did a great job in Straight Outta Compton.

Every good detective needs a sensible manager—someone to reign them in when they get carried away by the mystery. We suggest a radio station manager or no-nonsense senior producer played by Lorraine Toussaint.