Jon Hamm has delivered some of the finest TV performances of the last couple decades. Though he made his name with his portrayal of Don Draper on “Mad Men,” Hamm has since solidified his standing as a modern small screen legend with standout performances in “Fargo,” “Your Friends & Neighbors,” and even the chilling “Black Mirror” episode that inspired “Severance,” “White Christmas.” That’s to say nothing of his brief but memorable turn as Monty Miller in “Landman” Season 1. Now, he’s back with “American Hostage,” which sees him portray a 1970s radio reporter who’s faced with the decision of whether to broadcast a live interview with a hostage taker.
“American Hostage” started life as a podcast of the same name, which also starred Hamm and dramatized the true story of how Tony Kiritsis took his mortgage broker hostage in 1977. In February of that year, Kiritsis accosted Richard Hall in his office, wrapping a wire around his neck, along the barrel of a shotgun, and over the trigger in what he called a “dead man’s line.” The idea was that, should police decide to shoot Kiritsis, his weight would cause the gun to go off, killing Hall. Kiritsis then paraded Hall through Indianapolis before holing up in his apartment for three days and making multiple calls to the WIBC radio station during which he spoke with newsman Fred Heckman.
The “American Hostage” podcast dramatizes the story over eight episodes, with Hamm in the role of Hackman and filmmaker/podcaster Shawn Christensen directing. Shawn Ryan and Eileen Myers adapted the podcast for MGM+, and the first episode of the show is now available on Prime Video. It’s well worth a watch, too, as evidenced by the reviews.
Jon Hamm interviews a deranged Giovanni Ribisi in American Hostage
“American Hostage” the podcast was a success, debuting at number seven on Apple Podcasts and earning a 4.6 star rating on the platform. Unsurprisingly, MGM+ saw the potential for a TV remake, which was unveiledestival before premiering on MGM+ on September 20, 2026. Prime Video allows subscribers to watch the series premiere at no extra cost
Like the podcast, the show comprises eight episodes and sees “The Shield” and “The Night Agent” creator Shawn Ryan take over from Shawn Christensen as the creative lead, alongside his “The Night Agent” writer Eileen Myers. Jon Hamm reprises the role of Fred Heckman, news director and trusted reporter for radio station WIBC. In the premiere, Heckman gets a call from Tony Kiritsis (Giovanni Ribisi), who has taken Richard Hall (Kristoffer Polaha) hostage and demands to be interviewed by Heckman on-air. Ribisi is delightfully unhinged in the role, announcing himself as a “mad, mean m***********” when he first calls into WIBC.
It seems Kiritsis is convinced that he’ll be inundated with support if only people could hear his mortgage troubles on one of the biggest radio platforms in Indianapolis. Suddenly, Heckman finds himself caught between airing what could be the biggest story of his career and potentially broadcasting the violent death of a man live on-air. It sounds fairly bleak and tense, which it is. But there’s also a quirky sense of humor at work in “American Hostage” that conveys the writers’ awareness of the absurd situation they’re dramatizing. It also makes for what could be one of the best crime shows of 2026.
American Hostage is the third dramatization of an unbelievable true story
“American Hostage” has only released two episodes thus far, and is rolling outry Sunday. But it’s already managed to earn a 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews
Jared Richards of The Age praised Hamm for his “minute expressions” which in his view reveal “an inner turmoil that, while fascinating, probably could have been conveyed in five episodes rather than eight.” That sentiment is echoed by Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter, who while impressed by the performances, felt the show starts out strong only to “peak in the middle and overstay its welcome.” TV Guide‘s Keith Phipps, meanwhile, enjoyed the way the series “treats the hostage crisis as a reflection of larger cultural changes” at the time, and commended Hamm for playing Fred Heckman “with a dignity and gravitas that contrasts sharply with Ribisi’s hunched, manic work as Tony.”
Interestingly enough, this is the third major dramatization of the Tony Kiritsis hostage crisis of the 2020s. As well as the “American Hostage” podcast, Gus Van Sant delivered his take on the event with 2025’s “Dead Man’s Wire,” which was, in turn, based on the 2018 documentary “Dead Man’s Line.” Van Sant’s movie starred Bill Skarsgård as Kiritsis and Colman Domingo as the film’s version of Fred Heckman, Fred Temple. The film managed to nudge the Tomatometer a percentage point further than “American Hostage” on Rotten Tomatoes, too.
“Dead Man’s Wire” is available to watch on Netflix if you want a more concise retelling of the same unbelievable true story. Meanwhile, “American Hostage” is available on MGM+, which you can subscribe to
