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.
