Jon Hamm stars in and executive produces MGM+’s American Hostage, a new anthology series premiering on September 20, 2026. The trailer shows Hamm playing a radio reporter who’s shocked to find himself in the middle of a hostage story.
Shawn Ryan and Eileen Myers co-created the series, which is based on the popular podcast. The eight-episode season also stars Emmy nominee Giovanni Ribisi, Kristoffer Polaha, Emmy Award nominee William Jackson Harper, Emmy nominee Mireille Enos, Jonathan Tucker, and Kat Cunning.
New episodes will stream on Sundays, with the finale set for November 1.
MGM+’s synopsis reads, “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, 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.”
Additional executive producers include Shawn Ryan, Eileen Myers, Sharon Hoffman, Connie Tavel, Marney Hochman, Shawn Christensen, Gabriel Mason, and Jen Roskind. Adam Arkin and Nina Lopez Corrado direct and executive produce.
Fred Heckman’s story was also the subject of the 2025 feature film Dead Man’s Wire starring Bill Skarsgard, Dacre Montgomery, Al Pacino, and Colman Domingo.
