A period historical drama that unfolds like a true-crime mystery, “Manhunt” begins streaming on Apple TV+.
Based on the riveting 2007 bestseller by James L. Swanson, “Manhunt” offers a day-by-day, minute-by-minute account of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle), the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln (Hamish Linklater), and his band of conspirators. It unfolds against the background of the events of April 1865, one of the most consequential months in American history.
As the book and miniseries remind us, Lincoln only received telegraphed news of the South’s surrender on April 9, and would be dead within a week. His decision to attend a play at Ford’s Theatre was a dramatic gesture of “normalcy” after four years of horrific war and sacrifice.
Boyle is tasked with fleshing out Booth, a “patriot” from the Confederacy whose delusions and quest for notoriety were fueled by his professional insecurities and the sense that he was overshadowed by the theatrical reputations of his father and brother.
Look for Tobias Menzies as Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s asthmatic secretary of war who organizes the response to the assassination. A sprawling cast includes many surprising choices, including “Veep” bumbler and Upright Citizen’s Brigade comic veteran Matt Walsh as Samuel Mudd, the doctor who sets Booth’s broken leg on his flight from Washington and becomes ensnared in the list of plotters. Lili Taylor (“Mystic Pizza”) portrays the president’s brittle wife and widow, Mary Todd Lincoln, a woman hysterical in the best of times and completely unraveled by tragic events.
“Manhunt” reminds us of an era lost to history, a time when Lincoln and the Union efforts were fused with religious certainty. The words of Julia Ward Howe’s “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” evoke a holy war. Roused by lyrics like “Our God is marching on,” citizens could not overlook signs and symbols. The Appomattox surrender took place on Palm Sunday, and Lincoln was shot on Good Friday.
“Manhunt” blends the sweeping backdrop of fast-moving history that may remind viewers of Spielberg’s “Lincoln” with the banal details and minutia of a true-crime docuseries.
With so many personalities involved amid swiftly developing events, a little explanatory text might have helped matters. I’m not sure if someone without a rudimentary familiarity with history will understand everything here. But that’s a minor quibble, given its great cast and important story.
— Apple TV+ follows up its miniseries “Masters of the Air” with the hourlong documentary “The Bloody Hundredth,” streaming today. The film includes archival footage and interviews with members of the 100th Bomber Group, a band of airmen that took extraordinary casualties and fatalities as they conducted their war on Germany and Nazi-occupied territories. Tom Hanks narrates.
On a personal note, my Uncle John flew with the 100th. His B-17 was shot down, and he spent years in a German prisoner-of-war camp, or stalag. His story only emerged piecemeal and secondhand from my mother and grandmother. True to many men of his generation, he never discussed his war experiences.
— Max begins streaming the 2023 comedy fantasy “Dream Scenario,” starring Nicolas Cage as a nebbish professor who suddenly starts “starring” in the dreams of millions of strangers.
— Disney+ streams the hit 2023 concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version).”
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A chemical plant fire spews toxic plumes on “Fire Country” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— A local baker locks horns with a corporate bigshot over a secret recipe in the 2022 romance “A Christmas Cookie Catastrophe” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— The case of a troubled young woman resurfaces on “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
New kids in town (Jason Patric and Corey Haim) encounter a gang of teenage vampires in the 1987 horror comedy “The Lost Boys” (10:30 p.m., Pop), co-starring Kiefer Sutherland, Dianne Wiest, Jami Gertz and Edward Herrmann.
SERIES NOTES
A prison van accident frees three female fugitives on “S.W.A.T.” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “Deal or No Deal Island” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … “WWE Friday Night SmackDown” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … An app turns any video into a game on “Shark Tank” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “Dateline” (9 p.m., NBC) … “20/20” (9 p.m., ABC).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Kimbal Musk and Sleater-Kinney on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Jamie Dornan and Andy Samberg visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts Will Miles, Giulia Rozzi, Brian McElhaney, Nick Kocher, Anna Seregina and Chris Thayer on “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
