Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer may have set off some existential crises and Wikipedia binges, but before that there was Manhattan. When the show launched in 2014, Mad Men was ending and television networks were looking for other historical dramas that would capture that same audience; those with a predilection for character-driven stories with a cerebral bent, an emotional anchor and stylish production.
Edged out by more zeitgeisty shows such as The Americans and Halt and Catch Fire, Manhattan was criminally underwatched and was cancelled after two seasons in 2015. But with the success of Oppenheimer, now’s the time to consider trying Manhattan – but go in knowing you should not expect to learn the ins and outs of nuclear fission or second world war geopolitics with any robust fidelity. Manhattan is a (very) fictionalised telling of the drama, secrecy and breakthroughs of the Los Alamos nuclear bomb project.
Most of the characters are not real but loosely drawn from real-world counterparts; the only two actual scientists to pop up in the show are J Robert Oppenheimer and Niels Bohr. General Groves, played by Matt Damon in Oppenheimer, is only sometimes referenced.
Manhattan instead tells the story of life on “the hill”: those working and living in the secretive Los Alamos compound. It’s a rich tapestry of the triumphs and failures of the teams charged with creating a superweapon to stop the deranged dictator laying waste to Europe.
Initially framed as a rivalry between the promising young physicist Charlie Isaacs (Australian American actor Ashley Zukerman, who you may recognise as Succession’s Nate Sofrelli) and the esteemed but authority-challenging Frank Winter (John Benjamin Hickey), Manhattan’s 23 episodes had the time and space to dive deep into the thorny moral quandaries of what it means to work for a greater good. The ethical dilemma of creating such a weapon and its appalling potential is never far from the surface.
But perhaps where it’s most compelling is in its commitment to its wider ensemble. There’s Charlie’s wife Abigail (Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel), a woman from a rich family whose unhappiness in her marriage leads her to explore other ventures. There’s Frank’s wife Liza (Olivia Williams), a doctor and botanist who had to sacrifice her career for her husband’s work but who is unwilling to sit idly and play house.
There are the other scientists on the hill, including Helen Prins (Katja Herbers), a Dutch physicist constantly fighting against the constraints placed on her as a woman, and Reed Akley (David Harbour), Frank’s competition working on an opposing project.
Manhattan deftly services the personal dramas of its characters along with their professional challenges while throwing in doses of intrigue, espionage and military power plays. The West Wing’s Richard Schiff recurs as an intelligence officer, while CSI’s William Petersen joins in season two as a hardman and proselytising general. (Speaking of West Wing alumni, Manhattan’s directors include Thomas Schlamme, Christopher Misiano and Bill D’Elia.)
The show, created by Sam Shaw (Masters of Sex, Castle Rock), tries to hit many notes, and while it’s not always perfect – I’d say it starts off shaky and doesn’t hit its stride until episode four – it skilfully weaves together the paranoia, hope and exhaustion of a moment in history which changed the world. The writing and the performances are excellent – so if Oppenheimer wasn’t enough for you, Manhattan is a dynamite series.
Manhattan is streaming on Stan. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here
