Apparently, this is the year for Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth. Much of Hollywood seems to be fascinated with the legendary president and his assassin right now, with a biopic and a HBO miniseries already in the works. Now, there's a Showtime series in development that would focus on Booth and his brothers [1] — a dysfunctional family drama of sorts that I'm guessing ends with a president shot dead.
I'm having trouble keeping these various projects straight in my mind. Should I care most about Lincoln himself, how his assassin got caught, or how his killer came to be a presidential shooter in the first place? Here's a handy chart to help you decide:
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | The Booths [2] | Team of Rivals [3] | Manhunt [4] |
| Medium | TV (Showtime) | Film | TV (HBO) |
| Stars | To be determined | Liam Neeson (Lincoln), Sally Field (Mary Todd Lincoln) | To be determined |
| Focus | John Wilkes Booth and his two dysfunctional brothers | Lincoln himself | "Lesser-known players" in the hunt for Lincoln's killer |
| Hollywood "Big Name" | Executive Producer Kevin Bacon | Director Steven Spielberg | Writers David Simon and Tom Fontana |
| Book Inspiration | None | Team of Rivals [5] | Manhunt [6] |
| Presumed Outcome | Lincoln dies | Lincoln dies | Lincoln dies |
Source [7] and Source [8]
http://www.buzzsugar.com/2272460
Links:
[1] http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117993469.html
[2] http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117993469.html
[3] http://buzzsugar.com/653729
[4] http://buzzsugar.com/2022915
[5] http://www.amazon.com/Team-Rivals-Political-Abraham-Lincoln/dp/0743270754/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2971324-9002539?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190671687&sr=8-1
[6] http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Manhunt/James-L-Swanson/e/9780060518509/?itm=2
[7] http://www.gettyimages.com
[8] http://www.wikipedia.org


