Sartaj Singh
‘Manhunt’ is a fictionalized historical drama that follows the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth after he assassinates President Abraham Lincoln. The narrative begins by introducing us to John Wilkes Booth, an ambitious theater actor who concocts an assassination plan in a bid to gain worldwide fame. Just as the American Civil War comes to an end with the Union’s victory, Booth shoots Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. and flees, heading south to seek asylum in Confederate territories. Edwin Stanton, the Union’s secretary of war, leads Union cavalrymen and detectives on the manhunt for Booth. While the assassin and his accomplice flee southward, they lead their pursuers from the bustling streets of Washington, D.C., to the swamplands of Maryland and the forests of Virginia.
Based on the book ‘Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer,’ by James L. Swanson, the Apple TV+ series is created by Monica Beletsky and delves into the infamous historical incident with conspiracies and adds its interpretation to some of the figures. The period drama is further highlighted by its attention to recreating the time period along with the changing landscapes as the plot steadily takes the characters south on the hunt. With its authentic representation of historical sites, shifting terrain, and landmarks throughout each episode, the series sparks curiosity regarding the real-world filming locations behind the camera.
Manhunt Filming Locations
‘Manhunt’ is filmed in Savannah, Georgia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While most of the series’ period sets are built by its production team, shooting for a few scenes does take place on historically relevant sites. Principal photography for the first season of the series reportedly took place between May and October of 2022.
The team behind the production seems to be proud of their creation, with some of them sharing the responsibility and impact they felt while filming. Actor Tobias Menzies talked about the scene of Lincoln’s coffin being brought out of the boarding house. As the crowd of African-Americans witnessed the event, it delivered a powerful sense of what that one man meant to the trajectory of a nation. Let us venture into the exact filming sites chosen to recreate this historical series.
Savannah, Georgia
The filming of ‘Manhunt’ is primarily carried out in locations around the coastal Georgian city of Savannah. Situated south of the Savannah River, the city is known for its historical districts with Civil War-era buildings and architecture alongside cobblestone roads and squares. The town is also home to an abundance of verdant spaces and parks that are used to simulate the natural landscapes of the series.
The production team builds many of the historic sets in Savannah while using appropriate historical sites around the city to depict the backdrops encountered by the characters as they continue their chase. The exterior of Ford’s Theatre seen in the show is actually a set made by the production team, while its interior is depicted by a real-life theater.
A real-life Civil War structure that can be seen in the show is General Sherman’s headquarters building, now known as the Green-Meldrin House. Located at 14 West Macon Street, on the northwest corner of Madison Square, the house is a designated National Historic Landmark. Showrunner Monica Beletsky accidentally came across the site when scouting for shooting locations.
“When I was looking for locations, they were actually just showing it to us as a location that could be anything,” said Beletsky in an interview. “I looked in the park and there was one of those blue signs, and it said, ‘Here’s the place where Edwin Stanton made the contract with Sherman for field order 15,’ which is the 40 acres and a mule Reconstruction deal. I just got chills, I just couldn’t believe — I’m gonna tear up — it was right there.”
Another antiquated backdrop for the series is captured at the Pulaski Square Park in Savannah. Constructed in 1837, it features the Theodosius Bartow House on 126 West Harris Street and the Bernard Constantine House on 218 West Harris Street. Residents could spot the show’s sets decorated with American flags and banners celebrating the Union’s victory with slogans. Other period productions shot around Savannah include ‘The Underground Railroad,’ ‘Glory,’ ‘Z: The Beginning of Everything,’ ‘The Birth of a Nation,’ and ‘The Conspirator.’
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Shooting for some pivotal sequences in ‘Manhunt’ takes place in Philadelphia. In the show, the interior of the Ford’s Theater, where Booth carries out the assassination, was actually the Miller Theater, formerly the Merriam, on Broad Street. In addition, the show utilizes a historic house in Fairmount Park as a filming location.
Read More: Best Civil War Movies on Netflix
