Is 'American Hostage' the next 'American Crime Story'? About the Jon Hamm-Giovanni Ribisi anthology series

Amazon/MGM+'s upcoming "American Hostage" could be the platform's answer to FX's "American Crime Story", structurally and conceptually. The show is expected to be the former's entry into the premium true-crime and historical anthology genre, also dominated by Ryan Murphy's other FX property, "American Horror Story".

Much like "American Crime Story" tackles a single standalone true-crime event per season (e.g., O.J. Simpson or Gianni Versace), "American Hostage" — Season 1, that is — is designed to do the same.

What is 'American Hostage' about?

"American Hostage" is an upcoming psychological crime thriller television anthology series set to premiere on September 20, 2026, on MGM+. Created by Shawn Ryan and Eileen Myers, the eight-episode season is based on the popular 2022 scripted podcast of the same name.

Set in the 1970s, the series uses as inspiration the real-life 1977 Indianapolis hostage crisis involving Tony Kiritsis and radio reporter Fred Heckman. Heckman, a respected and popular journalist, is suddenly drawn into a dangerous situation: Kiritsis takes hostages and demands to be interviewed live on Heckman's radio program. What begins as a news story quickly becomes a life-or-death struggle.

At the centre of the series is the complicated relationship between the journalist and the hostage-taker. As Heckman tries to keep the situation under control, the story examines difficult questions about journalism and media ethics. It explores how far a newsroom should go for a major story, the importance of editorial independence, and the ways corruption and institutional failures can influence a crisis.

The series features a strong cast. Jon Hamm plays Fred Heckman, the conflicted radio reporter caught between his professional responsibilities and the demands of a dangerous captor. Giovanni Ribisi plays Tony Kiritsis, whose unpredictable behaviour drives the crisis. Jonathan Tucker appears as FBI agent Cormac McNally, while Mireille Enos, William Jackson Harper, and Kristoffer Polaha play Barbara, Ben Hairston, and Dick Hall.

While Season 1 chronicles the 1977 Tony Kiritsis crisis, the show's creators have already noted that future seasons will pivot to entirely different historical American hostage crises.

Depending on regional availability and subscription options, viewers may also be able to stream it through Prime Video.

Is 'American Hostage Story' connected to 'Dead Man's Wire'?

Interestingly, the series is not the only recent project inspired by the Kiritsis hostage crisis. Filmmaker Gus Van Sant's "Dead Man's Wire" also draws from the same 1977 events, but the two productions take very different approaches.

"American Hostage" is an eight-episode television series that focuses strongly on the media, the FBI response, and the ethical problems surrounding the live broadcast. Its larger format is an advantage, allowing it to explore the wider consequences of the hostage crisis and the pressure placed on journalists to turn a dangerous event into a ratings success.

By contrast, "Dead Man's Wire" is a 1-hour-44-minute theatrical film that concentrates more closely on the three-day standoff and the relationship between Kiritsis and his hostage, Richard Hall. The film also explores class conflict, corporate power, and greed.

Ultimately, both projects revisit the same extraordinary event, but "American Hostage" reportedly uses the story to ask broader questions about journalism, power, and the responsibilities of the media during a crisis.