WSJ reviews ‘Manhunt,’ pursuing John Wilkes Booth on Apple TV+

“Manhunt” will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, March 15th.
In February, at the 2024 Winter Television Critics Association press tour, Apple TV+ revealed the trailer for “Manhunt,” the upcoming seven-part, true crime limited series starring Emmy Award-winning actor Tobias Menzies (“The Crown,” “Game of Thrones”), and created by Emmy nominee Monica Beletsky (“Fargo,” “The Leftovers,” “Friday Night Lights”), who also serves as showrunner and executive producer. “Manhunt” makes its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, March 15th, and new episodes will debut Fridays, culminating in the finale on April 19th.

John Anderson for The Wall Street Journal:
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They were, arguably, the most influential criminal gang in American history: Booth’s shooting of Lincoln, on April 14, 1865, not only deprived the country of its president, it ushered in Andrew Johnson and derailed Reconstruction, consequences we still live with today. But the search for Booth post-assassination isn’t something that has been given a lot of attention on screen, and as imagined by series creator Monica Beletsky (“Fargo,” “Friday Night Lights”), the narrative opens up the entire conspiracy by skipping around in time, not always gracefully but with what seems to be historical fidelity.

Lili Taylor and Tobias Menzies star in “Manhunt.”

With the exception of Mr. Menzies and Lili Taylor as Mary Todd Lincoln — their acting being the best arguments for sticking with the show—the actors give broad performances; the racists are vicious cartoons and the ex-slaves are all cherubic. Hamish Linklater’s Lincoln is hardly the haggard figure the president was at war’s end; he is distractingly young and vigorous, recalling a young, bumptious James Stewart rather than the shawl-hugging Daniel Day-Lewis. And yet, the story—and the bits of factual detail with which is adorned — will likely keep one watching.

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MacDailyNews Take: This one, for the subject matter alone, will bring in eyeballs to Apple TV+.
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