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Jon Hamm and Giovanni Ribisi Star in 'American Hostage' Based on 1977 Crisis
Confirmed
In Short: MGM+ has unveiled the official trailer, key art, and new images for its upcoming high-stakes anthology series, 'American Hostage,' starring Jon Hamm and Giovanni Ribisi.
The eight-episode series, co-created by Shawn Ryan and Eileen Myers, is set in the 1970s and based on a scripted podcast of the same name.
Hamm portrays Fred Heckman, a prominent Indianapolis radio reporter, while Ribisi plays Tony Kiritsis, the kidnapper who demands an interview on Heckman’s radio news program.
The narrative is based on the true story of Tony Kiritsis, who took his mortgage broker hostage in 1977 and demanded an interview on Heckman’s radio show.
Heckman, thrust into a life-or-death situation, must navigate the crisis while Kiritsis holds his hostage, Dick Hall, for nearly 63 hours.
The executive production team includes Shawn Ryan, Eileen Myers, Sharon Hoffman, Jon Hamm, Connie Tavel, Marney Hochman, Shawn Christensen, Gabriel Mason, Jen Roskind, Adam Arkin, and Nina Lopez Corrado.
Corrado also serves as one of the series directors, bringing the psychological thriller to life.
What this adds
The series adaptation adds new characters and relationships not present in the original podcast and real-life events.
Background
In the series, Jon Hamm plays Fred Heckman, a radio reporter in Indianapolis, who becomes entangled in a hostage situation when Tony Kiritsis (Giovanni Ribisi) demands to be interviewed on his radio show after kidnapping his mortgage broker.
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, or refrain from acting, in a certain way, often under threat of serious physical harm or death to the hostage(s) after expiration of an ultimatum.
What's confirmed
- The eight-episode series, co-created by Shawn Ryan and Eileen Myers, is set in the 1970s and based on a scripted podcast of the same name.
- Hamm portrays Fred Heckman, a prominent Indianapolis radio reporter, while Ribisi plays Tony Kiritsis, the kidnapper who demands an interview on Heckman’s radio news program.
- The narrative is based on the true story of Tony Kiritsis, who took his mortgage broker hostage in 1977 and demanded an interview on Heckman’s radio show.
- Heckman, thrust into a life-or-death situation, must navigate the crisis while Kiritsis holds his hostage, Dick Hall, for nearly 63 hours.
- The executive production team includes Shawn Ryan, Eileen Myers, Sharon Hoffman, Jon Hamm, Connie Tavel, Marney Hochman, Shawn Christensen, Gabriel Mason, Jen Roskind, Adam Arkin, and Nina Lopez Corrado.
- Corrado also serves as one of the series directors, bringing the psychological thriller to life.
What's still developing
- MGM+ has unveiled the official trailer, key art, and new images for its upcoming high-stakes anthology series, American Hostage.
- The production stars and is executive produced by Emmy Award winner Jon Hamm.
- The series is slated for a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
- American Hostage begins with two episodes on September 20 and will stream on MGM+ through November 1st.
- Jon Hamm was part of the podcast stars in the series alongside Giovanni Ribisi and William Jackson Harper.
- While I am a huge fan of MGM+ series this year, American Hostage falls a little short.
- Shortly after taking him hostage, Kiritsis gets on the phone to call into the radio station to talk to Heckman.
- I truly believe that Jon Hamm is one of our greatest TV actors.
- MGM+’s American Hostage is based on one of the strangest hostage crises in American history.
- Kiritsis really did abduct Hall, attach a shotgun to him with a wire, and hold him for nearly 63 hours.
- The MGM+ series expands the real events into a character driven drama, and some of the relationships and characters were created specifically for television.
- Here is what really happened and what American Hostage changed for the screen.