Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Gripping crime stories dig into complicated cases.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Manhunt
What's the Story?
In 1995, Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, was arrested for killing 3 people and inuring 23 others in a nationwide mail-bombing campaign. MANHUNT: UNABOMBER is the story of how he was found. James Fitzgerald (Sam Worthington) is the FBI profiler whose unconventional ideas blow apart the case painstakingly built by Don Ackerman (Chris Noth) and Stan Cole (Jeremy Bobb). Slowly, the FBI is closing in on Kaczynski (Paul Bettany). But as Fitzgerald dives deeper into the case, is he slowly, implacably losing his grip on his own life? Is the predator relating too much to his prey? Season 2 explores the case of security guard Richard Jewell and his role in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
Is It Any Good?
Moving back in forth in time and bringing a complicated investigation to life, this drama paints a gripping picture of men obsessed. Kaczynski's obsessions, of course, were detailed in long media accounts of the criminal and his crimes, as well as his letters and manifesto. Fitzgerald soon emerges as a complicated and tortured man. The same insight and leaps of reasoning that allow him to understand the Unabomber are what connects him too closely to the case. We see at the beginning of the series that he has become a Unabomber-like figure himself: a recluse in the woods. What changed the loving family man and cop (who we soon meet in one of the drama's time jumps) into this grizzled mountain man?
The answers are teased out intriguingly slowly, as we meet the cops on Kacynski's case and see how the FBI closed in on him. One thing this long-form treatment offers that a one-hour procedural can't: We see the grinding effort that building a case requires -- mountains of evidence, dozens of people picking through it, thousands of leads investigated and discarded. And then, ironically, the case's biggest break turns out to be Kacynski's brother, David (Mark Duplass), turning him in (in a roundabout fashion). The strength of Manhunt is that you don't just see the effort and the irony -- you feel it. This is one crime yarn that deserves its running time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why criminal cases are so commonly dissected on TV. What dramatic possibilities do they offer? Why do people like to watch them? What other shows besides Manhunt about criminal cases can you name?
How do law enforcement officers in this drama show teamwork and perseverance? Why are these important character strengths?
TV Details
- Premiere date : August 1, 2017
- Cast : Paul Bettany , Keisha Castle-Hughes , Sam Worthington , Jane Lynch
- Networks : Discovery Channel , Spectrum
- Genre : Drama
- Character Strengths : Perseverance , Teamwork
- TV rating :
- Last updated : February 15, 2023
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