Manhunt (2017 TV series)
Manhunt is an American drama anthology television series created by Andrew Sodroski, Jim Clemente, and Tony Gittelson. Initially commissioned as a television miniseries starring Sam Worthington and Paul Bettany, it depicted a fictionalized account of the FBI's hunt for the Unabomber and premiered on Discovery Channel on August 1, 2017.[1][2] On July 17, 2018, it was reported that Charter Communications was in advanced negotiations with the series' producers to pick up the series, now considered an anthology series, for two seasons to be aired on their Spectrum cable service. The first of these potential seasons reportedly would follow Eric Rudolph, known as the Olympic Park Bomber.[3] On January 18, 2020, it was announced that the second season, titled Manhunt: Deadly Games, would premiere on February 3, 2020.[4]
| Manhunt | |
|---|---|
 Television release poster | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Andrew Sodroski Jim Clemente Tony Gittelson |
| Starring | |
| Composer(s) |
(s. 2) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Dana Brunetti John Goldwyn Troy Searer Andrew Sodroski Kevin Spacey (season 1) Greg Yaitanes |
| Producer(s) | David A. Rosemont |
| Production company(s) | Discovery Communications Trigger Street Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network |
|
| Original release | August 1, 2017 – Present |
Cast
Season 1: Unabomber
Main (season 1)
- Sam Worthington as Jim Fitzgerald
- Paul Bettany as Ted Kaczynski
- Jeremy Bobb as Stan Cole
- Keisha Castle-Hughes as Tabby Milgrim
- Lynn Collins as Natalie Rogers
- Brían F. O'Byrne as Frank McAlpine
- Elizabeth Reaser as Ellie Fitzgerald
- Ben Weber as Andy Genelli
- Chris Noth as Don Ackerman
Recurring (season 1)
- Jane Lynch as Janet Reno
- Katja Herbers as Linda Kaczynski
- Michael Nouri as Bob Guccione
- Jill Remez as Susan Mosse
- Wallace Langham as Louis Freeh
- Brian d'Arcy James as Henry Murray
- Mark Duplass as David Kaczynski
- Diesel Madkins as Ernie Esposito
- Will Murden as Sean Fitzgerald
- Carter and Colby Zier as Ryan Fitzgerald
- Jana Allen as Heidi Shumway
- Trieste Kelly Dunn as Theresa Oakes
- Griff Furst as Burkhardt
- Rebecca Henderson as Judy Clarke
- Bonnie Johnson as Wanda Kaczynski
- Steve Coulter as Anthony Bisceglie
- Mary Rachel Dudley as Lois Epstein
- Tyler Huth as Timmy Oakes
- Doug Kruse as David Gelernter
- Mike Pniewski as Charles Epstein
- Gregory Alan Williams as Garland Burrell
- McKenna Grace Martin as Joanna Epstein
Season 2: Deadly Games
Main (season 2)
- Cameron Britton as Richard Jewell
- Jack Huston as Eric Rudolph
- Judith Light as Bobi Jewell
- Carla Gugino as Kathy Scruggs
- Gethin Anthony as Jack Brennan
- Kelly Jenrette as Stacy Knox
- Arliss Howard as Earl Embry
Recurring (season 2)
- Jay O. Sanders as Watson Bryant
- Nick Searcy
- Marley Shelton
- Becky Ann Baker
- Brad William Henke
Episodes
| Season | Subtitle | Episodes | Originally aired | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | |||||
| 1 | Unabomber | 8 | August 1, 2017 | September 12, 2017 | Discovery Channel | ||
| 2 | Deadly Games | 10 | February 3, 2020 | Spectrum | |||
Season 1: Unabomber (2017)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "UNABOM" | Greg Yaitanes | Andrew Sodroski | August 1, 2017 | 1.250[5] |
| 2 | 2 | "Pure Wudder" | Greg Yaitanes | Story by : Jim Clemente & Tony Gittelson Teleplay by : Andrew Sodroski | August 1, 2017 | 1.250[5] |
| 3 | 3 | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" | Greg Yaitanes | Max Hurwitz | August 8, 2017 | 0.904[6] |
| 4 | 4 | "Publish or Perish" | Greg Yaitanes | Nick Towne | August 15, 2017 | 0.940[7] |
| 5 | 5 | "Abri" | Greg Yaitanes | Story by : Jim Clemente & Tony Gittelson Teleplay by : Steven Katz | August 22, 2017 | 0.928[8] |
| 6 | 6 | "Ted" | Greg Yaitanes | Andrew Sodroski | August 29, 2017 | 1.114[9] |
| 7 | 7 | "Lincoln" | Greg Yaitanes | Story by : Nick Schenk, Jim Clemente & Tony Gittelson Teleplay by : Nick Schenk | September 5, 2017 | 1.022[10] |
| 8 | 8 | "USA vs. Theodore J. Kaczynski" | Greg Yaitanes | Andrew Sodroski | September 12, 2017 | 0.930[11] |
Season 2: Deadly Games (2020)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "CentBom" | Michael Dinner | Andrew Sodroski | February 3, 2020 |
| 10 | 2 | "Unabubba" | Michael Dinner | Andrew Sodroski | February 3, 2020 |
| 11 | 3 | "Bombingham" | Jon Avnet | Denise Harkavy | February 3, 2020 |
| 12 | 4 | "Run Rudolph Run" | Jon Avnet | Nick Towne | February 3, 2020 |
| 13 | 5 | "Land of the Noonday Sun" | Janice Cooke | Allison Moore | February 3, 2020 |
| 14 | 6 | "Army of God" | Janice Cooke | Nick Schenk | February 3, 2020 |
| 15 | 7 | "Eric" | Ali Selim | Andrew Sodroski | February 3, 2020 |
| 16 | 8 | "Join or Die" | Ali Selim | Nick Towne | February 3, 2020 |
| 17 | 9 | "Don't Tread On Me" | Michael Dinner | Nick Schenk | February 3, 2020 |
| 18 | 10 | "Open Season" | Michael Dinner | Allison Moore | February 3, 2020 |
Production
The working title for the series was Manifesto, and the series order was announced in March 2016 at a presentation by Discovery Communications president Rich Ross.[12] On May 15, 2016, Entertainment Weekly released several promotional photos, showing a first look at Paul Bettany's portrayal of Ted Kaczynski.[13]
Release
Lionsgate Home Entertainment released the entire miniseries on Blu-ray and DVD on December 26, 2017.[14]
Netflix secured the rights to the series in November 2017. It premiered on the site on December 12, 2017 in various territories.[15][16][17]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 93% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.67/10 based on 28 reviews.[18]
Historical accuracy
Greg Stejskal, a former FBI agent who was involved in the UNABOM investigation, criticized the writers of the show in TheWrap. He accused them of making "a minor member" of the FBI investigative team "into the star player who won the game", referring to the show's portrayal of Jim Fitzgerald. He said that Fitzgerald never met Kaczynski, was not in Lincoln, Montana, during the time of Kaczynski's arrest, had no part in the search of Kaczynski's cabin, and never interviewed him.[19][20][21]
Fitzgerald told Bustle in August 2017 that the show is in the "high 80 percentile" of accuracy, though "the Fitz character is a composite". He also stated that he had not interviewed Kaczynski, although he said he was on his way to do so in 2007 when Kaczynski changed his mind.[22]
The trial took place in Billings, Montana, not in California as depicted in the show.
References
- Hipes, Patrick (2017-03-28). "'Manhunt: Unabomber' Premiere Date Set On Discovery Channel". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
- Pedersen, Erik (2017-06-05). "[Watch] 'Manhunt: Unabomber' Trailer: FBI Profiler Hunts Unusual Serial Killer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
- Andreeva, Nellie (July 17, 2018). "'Manhunt' Anthology Series Nears 2-Season Pickup At Charter From Lionsgate With Eric Rudolph As Next Subject". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- "Spectrum Originals Anthology Series "Manhunt: Deadly Games" Produced by Lionsgate Television to Debut February 3". The Futon Critic. January 18, 2020.
- Welch, Alex (2017-08-02). "Tuesday cable ratings: 'Manhunt: Unabomber' premieres, 'WWE Smackdown' holds steady". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- Welch, Alex (2017-08-09). "Tuesday cable ratings: 'WWE Smackdown' holds steady, 'Manhunt: Unabomber' dips". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
- "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.15.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
- "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.22.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
- "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.29.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
- "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.5.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2017-09-10.
- Porter, Rick (2017-09-14). "Tuesday cable ratings: 'American Horror Story' takes a hit in week 2". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- Wagmeister, Elizabeth (March 31, 2016). "Kevin Spacey, Dana Brunetti FBI drama 'Manifesto' lands series order at Discovery Channel". Variety. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- Snierson, Dan (May 15, 2016). "See Paul Bettany as the Unabomber in new Discovery series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- "Manhunt: Unabomber (mini-series) - Lionsgate's Press Brief Reveals Bonus Material for the DVDs and Blu-rays". tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- Netflix UK Acquires True Crime Anthology Series ‘Manhunt’, Discovery UK Retains Linear Rights
- 'Manhunt: Unabomber' es la serie que debes ver antes de que termine 2017
- Zum Start: Netflix zeigt "Manhunt: Unabomber" als Deutschlandpremiere
- "Manhunt: Unabomber (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- "An FBI Veteran on What Discovery's 'Manhunter: Unabomber' Gets Wrong (Guest Blog)". TheWrap. 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
- Stejskal, Greg (August 15, 2017). "An FBI Veteran on What Discovery's 'Manhunter: Unabomber' Gets Wrong (Guest Blog)". Houston Chronicle.
- "Ex-FBI Agent: 'Manhunt Unabomber' Series Disrespects Heroes". www.deadlinedetroit.com. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
- Urquhart-White, Alaina. "How Accurate Is Fitz In 'Manhunt: Unabomber'? Here's What The Real James Fitzgerald Thinks Of His Fictionalized Self". Bustle. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
