MANHUNT
Starring: Tobias Menzies, Anthony Boyle, Lovie Simone, Matt Walsh, Brandon Flynn, Betty Gabriel, Will Harrison, Hamish Linklater, Maxwell Korn, Patton Oswalt, Damian O’Hare, Lili Taylor, Anne Dudek, and Glenn Morshower
Creator: Monica Beletsky
QUENTIN
Unlike its other new historical miniseries, Franklin, Apple TV+’s Manhunt manages to tell an interesting story full of conspiracy, political intrigue, and most importantly, moments that educate. Maybe it’s just me, a person who went to public schools in the American South, but I didn’t know a lot about the specifics surrounding Abraham Lincoln’s (Hamish Linklater) assassination, the hunt for John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle), or the immediate aftermath of the Confederacy’s surrender. It was in gaining that knowledge that I actually enjoyed this series despite the slow start, mediocre performances, and terrible casting choices (I’m looking at you, Patton Oswalt).
PRESTON
Manhunt does manage to inform its audience regarding Abraham Lincoln’s assassination (spoiler alert), but cannot be called even close to efficient in doing so. The narrative bounces around from point to point with little care in why or where it proceeds, but in the end it does somehow manage to do so without completely losing the viewer. Its problems lie, almost entirely, in some very middling performances that rob the air of oxygen and give the show a sort of doltish quality. I would reserve my recommendation to watch to only the most ardent admirers of reconstruction-era America.