After the movie “Free Willy” became a hit, word got out that the star of the film, a killer whale named Keiko, was sick and living in a tiny pool at a Mexican amusement park. Fans were outraged and pleaded for his release. “The Good Whale” tells the story of the wildly ambitious science experiment to return Keiko to the ocean — while the world watched. An epic tale that starts in Mexico and ends in Norway, the six-episode series follows Keiko as he’s transported from country to country, each time landing in the hands of well-intentioned people who believe they know what’s best for him – people who still disagree, decades later, about whether they did the right thing.

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After a month at sea, Keiko pops up near a Norwegian fishing village, causing a stir among the residents and his own team of caretakers. They figure that if they wait until spring, maybe Keiko will swim off again with a wild pod. If they can all just make it to spring.

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Keiko disappears in Icelandic waters, swimming east for four weeks. Unobserved, with no human contact. Since nobody knows what happened to Keiko during that mysterious time, we decided to recreate it — as a musical. From Keiko’s perspective, naturally.

Watch the music video for "The Ballad of Keiko" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1k1TQ2Lh0o

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A fresh training team takes a hard-line approach and doubles down on breaking Keiko’s bond with humans. By summer it seems to be working, until one day Keiko swims away. This is the moment they’ve all been waiting for.

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Keiko finally arrives in Iceland, where years of preparation will be put to the test when Keiko gets his first chance to interact with orcas in the wild — something he hasn’t done since he was a calf. It does not go according to plan.

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Keiko has a new tank in Oregon and a dream team of experts that gets him into shape. But soon they start fighting over what a realistic future looks like for this golden retriever of an orca.   

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Subscribers to the New York Times can listen to all episodes of The Good Whale, and access the full archive of other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts

Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on The Good Whale or other shows from Serial Productions? Email us at [email protected]

When the movie “Free Willy” is released, word gets out that the star, a killer whale named Keiko, is sick and living in a tiny pool at a Mexican amusement park. An environmentalist sets out to give the fans what they want: their favorite celebrity orca back in the sea.  

Sign up for our newsletter to see photos and videos of Keiko, and get a behind the scenes look at the making of The Good Whale. Sign up at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter

Subscribers to the New York Times can listen to all episodes of The Good Whale, and access the full archive of other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts

Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on The Good Whale or other shows from Serial Productions? Email us at [email protected]