“Manhunt”: Stars from “Harry Potter”, “The Crown ”Go Back in Time to Play Out the Search for John Wilkes Booth
With the manhunt in full gear with pitchforks and torches ablaze, Anthony Boyle's John Wilkes Booth screams, "I will not surrender! May god be my judge!"
Tobias Menzies is hunting down a man on the run in Apple TV+'s new series Manhunt.
Based on James L. Swanson's bestselling non-fiction book of the same name, the Emmy award-winning actor, 49, plays a lawyer named Edwin Stanton who lead the charge against one of the most famous assassins in American history — John Wilkes Booth.
In a press release shared with PEOPLE, Manhunt will tell the story of "one of the best known but least understood crimes in history. The seven-part conspiracy thriller follows the "astonishing story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth" and the aftermath of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
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Joining Menzies is a star-studded cast that includes, Anthony Boyle (John Wilkes Booth), Lovie Simone (Mary Simms), Will Harrison (David Herold), Brandon Flynn (Eddie Stanton Jr.), Damian O’Hare (Thomas Eckert), Glenn Morshower (Andrew Johnson), Patton Oswalt (Detective Lafayette Baker), Matt Walsh (Dr. Samuel Mudd) and Hamish Linklater (Abraham Lincoln).
"I was born with a chance to be somebody," Booth begins in the trailer over a shot of him opening a pocket knife and reaching for a gun. "I'm gonna be the most famous in the whole world."
The scene then transitions to Lincoln winning the Presidency in 1961. Congratulating him on his victory, Stanton reaches for his hand before pulling him into an embrace, "Mr. President, the Confederacy is dead. The union is saved. The war is over."
As the nation celebrates, the trailer transports to the moment Lincoln meets his fate. Hiding behind the curtains of the presidential box, Booth readies to pull the trigger. He emerges from his spot and shoots the president dead before exclaiming, "Freedom for the South!"
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Outside, the streets are unaware of the tragedy that's unfolded. When Stanton asks what's happened, someone informs him that "the President's been shot, witnesses are saying it was John Wilkes Booth."
"How does a well-known actor commit murder in front of an audience of 1500 people and escape?" Stanton wonders in disbelief before Mary Todd Lincoln instructs the lawyer to find the man behind Lincoln's murder.
Eventually, Stanton recruits a team of men to help assist him in the capture of Booth. They ransack his home and tear banners to reveal hidden confederate flags. Other members of government wonder if Lincoln's murder was a "conspiracy to dismember our government."
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Soon after, Booth goes on the run and a bounty of $30,000 is placed on his head. The monetary incentives spur others to take on the mission with intent to collect. Later on, the trailer shows new discoveries made by Stanton's investigation. Detective Baker reveals, "Booth is being protected by the Confederacy."
Sure enough, a Southerner tells Stanton, "Now with Lincoln out of the way, this country belongs to us."
With the manhunt in full gear with pitchforks and torches ablaze, Booth screams, "I will not surrender! May god be my judge!
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Manhunt premieres Friday, March 15 on Apple TV+.
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