New Series - Manhunt - Follows the U.S. Army's Search for John Wilkes Booth
On the night of April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot while watching a comedic play, "Our American Cousin," at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. Over the next 12 days, the largest manhunt in American history took place, which was personally directed by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.
"Manhunt," a new limited series on Apple TV+, dramatizes Stanton's hunt for Booth and his co-conspirators. The show is based on author and Lincoln scholar James Swanson's 2006 book, "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer," which examines every aspect of the assassination plot.
Most people have a general feel for what happened the night Abraham Lincoln was killed and who was involved. What's new about "Manhunt" is that the assassination is just the beginning. The show is a conspiracy thriller, following Stanton's efforts to not only hunt down Booth but also anyone else who might have been involved. The show, of course, ends at Garrett's Farm in Virginia, where Booth met his own end with a wound nearly identical to the one he inflicted on Lincoln.
But Lincoln wasn't the only target that night in April 1865. Co-conspirators were supposed to target Vice-President Andrew Johnson, an attack which never came, and Secretary of State William Seward, which did. Seward was wounded along with others in the attack. Four conspirators would be hanged for the assassination attempts, but the series explores others who might have been involved. It's a conspiracy that extended from Confederate Richmond in the south to Montreal, Canada, in the north, and even to faraway London.
"Manhunt" isn't just about the conspiracy around the murder of the 16th President of the United States. It explores Booth's personal motivations for killing Lincoln, as well as the reasoning behind the conspiracy. Historians have long believed the assassination was either retribution for the South's defeat in the Civil War or a means of reviving the Confederate cause, which by then was rendered hopeless.
It also explores the personal connection between Lincoln and his "Mars," Secretary of State Edwin Stanton. Stanton officially oversaw the hunt for Booth because the first-ever assassination of a sitting president shook the security of the nation. The outrage and shock expressed by the public put massive pressure on the government to find the killer. As Secretary of War in the days before the FBI was created, Stanton was particularly suited for the job.
Most importantly, however, Stanton and Lincoln were close friends who had worked together to prosecute the Civil War, and Stanton was committed to seeking justice for his friend's murder. Anthony Boyle ("Masters of the Air") stars as Booth opposite Tobias Menzies ("The Crown") as Stanton.
"Manhunt" also stars Will Harrison ("Daisy Jones & The Six"), Brandon Flynn ("13 Reasons Why"), Lovie Simone ("The Craft: Legacy"), Hamish Linklater ("The Stand"), Matt Walsh ("Veep") and Patton Oswalt ("Weird: The Al Yankovic Story"). The series will debut on Apple TV+ on March 15, 2024.