INDIANAPOLIS — It's one of the best known but least understood crimes in history.
That's the logline of the Apple TV+ limited series "Manhunt," which centers on the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865. His secretary of war and friend, Edwin Stanton (Tobias Menzies), leads a mission to capture Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle).
"It was awfully scary at first and throughout, but it was a terrific privilege and responsibility," actor Hamish Linklater ("Midnight Mass," "The Big Short") said on being cast as the 16th president of the United States.
Lincoln's assassination is always taught in history classes, but many will be shocked to find out Booth's brother, Edwin, was arguably the most famous actor at the time.
"It was like Timothee Chalamet's brother killed the president," Linklater said. "That's a shocking enough story. What's even more shocking is that he was one of three assassins sent out that night. They went for the vice president and secretary of state as well."
And a name many people may not know who was integral in the 12-day manhunt is Mary Simms, played in the limited series by Lovie Simone ("Power Book III: Raising Kanan," "Greenleaf").
"She is a very educated, well-respected – for the time – Black woman, who also testified in the Lincoln assassination trial," Simone said. "The stuff that she saw and the stuff that she told was very big moving pieces for that trial."
To put in perspective just how understated and underappreciated Simms is, she doesn't even have her own Wikipedia page.
"I didn't know anything at all about Mary Simms. I didn't know of her existence, and that does make me a little sad because there is a lot of other people whose lives I will never come across in any type of page or former file written about them because their life was not respected or seen to be respected or remembered," Simone said.
"Manhunt" debuts on Apple TV+ with two episodes March 15, followed by one episode each Friday leading up to the season finale on April 19.