In October 2017, Goodson pleaded guilty to the burglaries that were described in the podcast, and he will serve five years on probation with a ten-year suspended sentence. In July 2018, McLemore's estate administrator filed a lawsuit against the "S-Town"s production company, Serial Productions. The suit, which was filed without the knowledge of McLemore's family, alleged that by selling advertisements with the podcast they violated McLemore's personality rights. In March 2019, a judge declined to dismiss the complaint, leading to depositions, a discovery phase, and mediation. Discovery revealed that McLemore actively participated and cooperated with the podcast. The case was settled in May 2020 and subsequently dismissed. "S-Town" was culturally popular and received mixed critical reviews. "The Boston Globe" Ty Burr thought the show was complex and voyeuristic. He asked the question "is "S-Town" a freak show for the NPR crowd?" and described the series as "seven chapters of provocative red herrings that almost but never quite add up to a place, a people, or a man". Jessica Goudeau from "The Atlantic" questioned the ethics of the series, asking "is it okay to confess another person's pain for the sake of a good story?". Goudeau also wondered how Flannery O'Connor, Robert Lowell, or Elizabeth Bishop would have reacted to the podcast and the exploration of poor, white, rural America. "Slate" Katy Waldman wrote that "S-Town" feels more like a new genre, "something more like aural literature". "Vox"'s Aja Romano called the podcast "stunning", but suggested the podcast was too invasive and should not have been made. The podcast's critics claimed that the studio took advantage of John's death in order to gain publicity. "Crixeo", an online arts monthly, argues that Reed did not have the right to publicly out John as queer. At the same time, other views contend that "S-Town" was a way for them to take the story of John's death and shed light on mental health in the U.S. "The Atlantic"'s Spencer Kornhaber praised the series for its journalism, and humanism, as the series "hints at the possibility of cultural reconciliation" within the community. Rebecca Nicholson from "The Guardian" called the series "a noble attempt at understanding life", as the series showed "the great hope that resides within", by showing a person trying to survive within their surroundings.