Today, premium linear channel and streaming service MGM+ announced it has ordered the original thrilling anthology series American Hostage (working title) from co-creator and executive producer Shawn Ryan (The Night Agent, S.W.A.T.) and co-creator and executive producer Eileen Myers (Big Love, Mad Dogs). The 8-episode gripping series produced by Sony Pictures Television will star Primetime Emmy® and Golden Globe® award-winning actor Jon Hamm in the role of Fred Heckman and will start production in Winnipeg, Canada, this Fall. Sony Pictures Television will distribute the series internationally.
Based on the acclaimed first season of the scripted podcast of the same name, American Hostage is a psychological thriller set in the 1970s that tells the harrowing true story of Fred Heckman (Hamm), a beloved Indianapolis radio reporter who is thrust into the middle of a life-or-death crisis when hostage-taker Tony Kiritsis demands to be interviewed on his popular radio news program.
Jon Hamm is best known for his portrayal of Don Draper in AMC’s acclaimed drama series Mad Men. Recently, Hamm starred in Paramount’s record-breaking series Landman, the FOX animated series Grimsburg (which he also executive produces), and the fifth season of FX’s Fargo, for which he received Emmy®, Golden Globe®, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. His notable film work includes Top Gun Maverick, Confess, Fletch (which he also executive produced), and Mean Girls. On television, Hamm stars in Apple TV+’s series Your Friends and Neighbors alongside Olivia Munn and Amanda Peet, and has also appeared in Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, earning an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Amazon Prime Video’s Good Omens.
In addition to starring, Hamm will also serve as an executive producer on the series alongside Ryan, Myers, Connie Tavel, Sharon Hoffman, and Ryan’s MiddKid Productions partner, Marney Hochman. Shawn Christensen (Criminal Content) and Gabriel Mason (Criminal Content) also serve as executive producers.
“The combination of prolific producers Shawn Ryan and Eileen Myers, a singular talent like Jon Hamm, and our partners at Sony Pictures Television is a match made in MGM+ heaven,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “This is a fascinating story about real people engaged in a real-time life-or-death struggle to keep a desperate hostage situation from spinning out of control, and I can’t think of a more gifted actor on whom to center the story than Jon.”
“We couldn’t be more grateful to be making this show with our valued partners – MGM+, Shawn Ryan, Eileen Myers, and Jon Hamm,” said Katherine Pope, President, Sony Pictures Television Studios. “An exploration of quiet heroism, American Hostage shines a light on our culture, revealing truths that still strongly resonate.”
Hamm is repped by CAA, Forward Entertainment, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
Ryan is repped by CAA, the Shuman Co., and Gendler & Kelly.
Myers is repped by UTA, 3 Arts, and Jackoway.
