Apple Studios is set to produce a new true-crime series for Apple TV+ surrounding the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Manhunt was ordered at the streamer from writer/producer Monica Beletsky, with Emmy award-winner Tobias Menzies set to play the starring role of Edwin Stanton, Lincoln's War Secretary and loyal friend who goes to great lengths to catch the titular killer.
Manhunt pulls from James Swanson's Edgar award-winning best-seller Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, along with other information surrounding Lincoln's death to craft a thriller full of conspiracy and panic. The series will follow Stanton's desperate search for Booth out of loyalty to his friend, and a need to uphold his legacy as his Reconstruction plan is underway in the country. In the background of the investigation is a fight to keep the former president's ideals intact — ideals that would eventually carry over into the present-day United States. Black historical figures are a key part of the series as well with Mary Simms, a former slave of the doctor that treated and protected Booth, playing a prominent role in the investigation.
This will be Beletsky's first series under her recently renewed overall deal with Apple TV+. Talent-wise, the show is off to a promising start. Beletsky herself has been nominated for Emmy, Golden Globe, PGA, and WGA awards respectively, while the star of the show, Menzies, earned his hardware for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in The Crown. Carl Franklin, the director of the series, is also Emmy-nominated for his work.
Menzies seems right at home as a star for this period series. Outside of The Crown, he played Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall in Starz's historical drama Outlander and Julius Caesar's most notorious assassin, Brutus, in HBO's Rome — an ironic note, considering he's now tasked with playing the hunter of a notorious assassin. He also periodically appeared throughout Game of Thrones as Edmure Tully.
Apple Studios and Lionsgate will co-produce Manhunt for Apple TV+ in association with POV Entertainment, Walden Media, and 3 Arts Entertainment. Swanson will get to oversee the transformation of his book on the small screen as an executive producer along with Franklin, Layne Eskridge, Michael Rotenberg and Richard Abate for 3 Arts, and Frank Smith and Naia Cucukov for Walden Media.
Apple TV+ has yet to announce additional casting choices or a release date for the production. We'll have more here on Collider as more comes out on this new historical drama.