Tobias Menzies hunts down a man on the run in a new Apple TV+ series Pursuit.
Based on James L. Swanson’s bestseller of the same name, the Emmy-winning actor (49) plays attorney Edwin Stanton, who leads the prosecution against one of the most famous murderers in American history — John Wilkes Booth.
In a press release shared with PEOPLE, Pursuit will tell the story of “one of the most famous but least understood crimes in history. The seven-part conspiracy thriller follows the “stunning story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth” and the aftermath of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
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Menzies is joined by an all-star 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 after a shot of him opening his pocket knife and reaching for a gun. “I will be the most famous in the whole world.”
Hamish Linklater in ‘Manhunt’.
Apple TV+
The scene then cuts to Lincoln’s victory in the 1961 presidential election. Congratulating him on his victory, Stanton reaches for his hand before pulling him into a hug, “Mr. President, the Confederacy is dead. The union is saved. The war is over.”
As the nation celebrates, the trailer cuts to the moment Lincoln meets his fate. Hiding behind the curtains of the presidential box, Booth prepares to pull the trigger. He emerges from his seat and shoots the president before exclaiming, “Freedom for the South!”
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Anthony Boyle in ‘Manhunt’.
Apple TV+
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Outside, the streets are oblivious to the unfolding tragedy. When Stanton asks what happened, someone informs him that “the president was shot, witnesses say it was John Wilkes Booth.”
“How does a famous actor commit murder in front of an audience of 1,500 people and get away?” Stanton wonders in disbelief before Mary Todd Lincoln instructs a lawyer to find the man behind Lincoln’s murder.
Eventually, Stanton recruits a team of men to help him capture Booth. They search his home and tear down banners to reveal hidden Confederate flags. Other cabinet members wonder if Lincoln’s assassination was “a plot to tear our government apart.”
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Brandon Flynn and Tobias Menzies in ‘Manhunt’.
Apple TV+
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Soon after, Booth goes on the run and a $30,000 bounty is placed on his head. Monetary incentives encourage others to take on the mission with the intention of collecting. Later, the trailer shows new discoveries made by Stanton’s investigation. Detective Baker reveals, “Booth is protected by the Confederacy.”
Of course, a Southerner tells Stanton, “Now that Lincoln’s out of the way, this country belongs to us.”
As the search is in full gear with pitchforks and torches ablaze, Booth screams, “I will not surrender! Let God be my judge!
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Pursuit premiering Friday, March 15 on Apple TV+.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education