The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln is finally getting the television treatment it deserves in the upcoming Apple TV+ limited series, “Manhunt.”
A whole host of expert British and American actors are starring in the dramatic retelling of John Wilkes Booth‘s assassination of Lincoln, based on the James L. Swanson nonfiction “Manhunt,” according to the trailer. Described as the “one of the best known but least understood crimes in history,” the limited series will follow the enormous hunt for Booth (played by Anthony Boyle) and the events that rippled through the U.S. in the days and weeks following the loss of their leader.
Tobias Menzies, a heavy-hitter in British entertainment, stars as former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Stanton. Though a huge critic of Lincoln, he played a leading role in the 12-day investigation and manhunt for Booth. It sounds like he’ll be the center of the series.
Much of it takes place after the Lincoln assassination, so creator Monica Beletsky leaned on flashbacks throughout the series to help the audience connect with the president’s death.
“Flashbacks are used to tell the story psychologically, so when it was a moment of revealing a character’s motivation or how they’re thinking through a decision in the present,” Beletsky claimed, according to Deadline. “I think really with this story, a really important thing is that people understand and feel their dilemmas and their loss and the challenges that are facing these characters in this very pressurized political thriller.” (RELATED: Nicolas Cage Is At It Again With Another Bizarre Trailer For A Weirdly Wonky Film)
One of those challenges includes Booth’s motivation for the murder.
“Booth doesn’t think he’s an asshole. He thinks he’s a hero. So in order for me to serve the project … I have to think that I’m the hero in this. So I wasn’t playing Booth as a villain, per se,” Boyle said of the role. “What I really wanted is to get to the bare bones.”
The series drops March 15 on Apple TV+.