Manhunt: "Unabomber"

“Manhunt: Unabomber,” 8 p.m. Aug. 1 on Discovery • Paul Bettany is Unabomber suspect Ted Kaczynski in an eight-episode scripted series following the FBI’s search. Jane Lynch, Chris Noth, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Michael Nouri are among the stars.

Discovery said today it will premiere its scripted anthology series Manhunt: Unabomber with a special two-hour episode Tuesday, August 1 at 9 PM. The series depicts the true story of the FBI’s famed hunt for the Unabomber, the deadliest serial bomber in history.

Sam Worthington and Paul Bettany star as FBI agent Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald and Ted Kaczynski, respectively. Fitzgerald was a fresh-faced criminal profiler and newest member of the Unabom Task Force, and faced an uphill battle against the bureaucracy of the UTF as his maverick ideas and new approaches to forensic linguistics were dismissed. That work eventually led to Kaczynski’s capture 17 years after his first bombing in 1978. Brian d’Arcy James, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Elizabeth Reaser and Rebecca Henderson co-star in the series, from Lionsgate and Trigger Street Productions. Greg Yaitanes executive produces, directs and serves as showrunner. John Goldwyn produces. Andrew Sodroski created the series and serves as an executive producer. Fitzgerald will serve as consulting producer. Discovery announced the premiere date for its second scripted series (after last year’s miniseries Harley And The Davidsons) as part of its upfront presentation to advertisers in New York.