Philly native's new series explores aftermath of Abraham Lincoln's assassination

The upcoming Apple TV+ historical fiction series "Manhunt" follows the search for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The project, which premieres next month, boasts several Philadelphia connections.

"Manhunt" was created by Emmy-nominated, Philly-native Monica Beletsky — who is also the showrunner and executive producer for the series — and part of the show was filmed at the historic Miller Theater on South Broad Street. The first two episodes of the seven-part limited series premiere on Friday, March 15, with new episodes debuting each Friday, culminating in the finale on April 19.

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"Philly is so steeped in history," Beletsky during a phone interview Monday. "And growing up there, I always was fascinated by sort of living around historical buildings and streets and wondering, you know, why is that named that and who was that ... named after? So I definitely think that living there, you know, sort of piqued my interest in terms of my love of history."

Beletsky was raised in the city's Mt. Airy neighborhood. Her interest in entertainment was sparked at a young age; growing up she acted in school plays, played a musical instrument and attended some "really amazing" productions at Penn's Annenberg Center. She graduated from J.R. Masterman School before attending Harvard University. There, she studied acting and directed theatrical productions, later realizing her interests lie in writing.

She has worked on more than 150 episodes of TV shows in the last decade, mostly for popular, character-ensemble dramas like "Fargo," "Friday Night Lights" and "Parenthood." She earned an Emmy nomination for her work on the third season of "Fargo." Her latest project, "Manhunt," is described by Apple as, "a conspiracy thriller about one of the best known but least understood crimes in history." The show is based on the bestselling 2006 book "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer," by James L. Swanson.

Beletsky stumbled upon the idea for "Manhunt" while reading about Edwin Stanton, Lincoln's secretary of war, who was tasked with solving president's murder and steering the country during the uncertain hours between Lincoln's death and Vice President Andrew Johnson taking over.

"I just thought what an interesting situation, and what an emotional situation to happen to someone, to lose a friend and a close colleague," Beletsky said about Stanton. "Right when you think that you're going to enjoy victory from hard years of war, then to have to be the person who solves the crime and tries to maintain what your friend wanted, and all the hard work that you did, so it doesn't disappear. I just thought, that's such an intense situation and such a great dramatic situation to write."

The basic details of Lincoln's assassination are well-documented: On the evening of April 14, 1865, while attending a play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., Lincoln was shot by actor and Confederate sympathizer Booth. Lincoln died hours later, and Booth went on the run. The manhunt lasted 12 days, before Booth was surrounded by authorities as he and a co-conspirator hid inside a tobacco-curing barn in Virginia. The standoff ended with Booth being shot and killed. 

While several films through the years have documented the events prior to the assassination, including the Academy Award-winning 2012 film "Lincoln," "Manhunt" takes a different approach. Beletsky said the miniseries explores Stanton's helming of the manic, expansive search for Booth — which even reached the Philadelphia area, where "wanted" posters were hung calling for Booth and his conspirators to surrender.

Along with Stanton's struggle, the series highlights the repercussions of the president's death on the nation as a whole and salute lesser-known protagonists of the Civil War and its fallout. 

"(O)ne of the things that's special about the show, is that when we think of the Civil War, many people don't realize how many people's lives were touched by it, and that it was really a diverse set of people," Beletsky said. "... I'm really excited about showing some of the unsung heroes in the story. Many who are African American, who we don't learn about in school, and so I feel proud to tell their stories in the show, as well."

According to Beletsky, studios had been attempting to adapt the "Manhunt" book for many years, but by the time she brought the idea to Apple it was available to make and the producers were on board. The cast includes Emmy-winning "The Crown" star Tobias Menzies as Stanton, Anthony Boyle as Booth and Hamish Linklater as Lincoln.

"I honestly can't think of any role that would be played better by another actor," Beletsky said of the "Manhunt" cast. "They're just all so so perfect for their roles and brought so much passion and intelligence and sophistication to the work, and I just really couldn't be happier with them."

"Manhunt" was largely filmed in Savannah, Georgia in 2022. But the scenes inside the infamous Ford's Theatre were shot here at Miller Theater, at 250 S. Broad St. Known as the Merriam Theater until 2022, the performance space was built in 1918, and Beletsky said, prior to identifying it for the filming location, it had been difficult to find a "period-correct" backdrop to be the stand in for Ford's Theatre. 

Production on the series had an entire second unit in Philly, where a historic mansion was also utilized as the set for scenes at the Secretary of State's house. 

"It really added a lot of authenticity to the show," Beletsky said of filming in Philadelphia. "And it was special to me, obviously, because it was my hometown. So that was a nice homecoming."

The show covers a lot of historical ground and delves a bit into conspiracy theories about who was behind the assassination, Beletsky said, but "Manhunt" can be enjoyed by anyone who wants to play couch detective while enjoying a fast-paced thriller.

"It's a show not just for history buffs, but for anyone who loves true crime, mysteries, literary fiction," she said. "And so I really hope that people enjoy it on a level of a crime thriller, as well as learning about history in ways that they didn't expect."

Watch the trailer for "Manhunt" below: