The Lincoln Assassination Is Coming To HBO

HBO is currently developing a mini-series on the Lincoln assassination, which will be based on James L. Swanson's Manhunt. This could be interesting because HBO has made some really good historical mini-series such as Band of Brothers and John Adams. Broadcasting & Cable reported:

"The project reunites the network with the creative forces behind two of its former critical hit series—Simon created The Wire and Fontana created Oz—as well as the two writers themselves. Simon and Fontana have not collaborated since Fontana turned Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets into the cop drama Homicide for NBC."

" The would-be mini comes at a time when HBO has continued to find critical and viewership success with miniseries while struggling to mount new, enduring series hits. HBO posted a less-than-spectacular open for its most recent series debut, the heavily marketed vampire drama True Blood, which attracted 1.4 million viewers to its Sept. 7 premiere. It was an anemic debut compared to recent HBO drama premieres including Big Love (4.6 million), Rome (3.8 million) and the failed John From Cincinnati (3.4 million)."

'It also comes on the heels of another HBO miniseries in the American history genre, John Adams, which enjoyed critical and viewership success, and piqued Fontana's attention."

"A history buff, Fontana's historical métier is the American Revolution and the Lincoln assassination. Fontana, in fact, grafted his Lincoln obsession onto one of his Homicide characters. Simon also possesses more than a passing interest in the Lincoln assassination."

Full article.

The last paragraph of this article is interesting. It states:

"For Simon, Lincoln's murder took on new relevancy with the Bush administration's post-9/11 policies. “People have been fascinated by the Lincoln assassination since it happened,” he says. “It's a pivotal moment in American history. The stakes were extremely high for the nation as a whole. The characters are grandly dramatic. So there would be reasons enough to be interested even if it were all an anachronism. But I don't think it is an anachronism. If you look at everything from Guantanamo to the Patriot Act to the debate over military tribunals versus civil prosecution, there's a lot of analogous stuff.”"

What?! So, they are going to use the Lincoln assassination to make a statement about the Bush Administration? Really? As someone who is training to be a historian this really angers me. One historical era or event can not be used to describe another, much later era. To compare the aftermath of the Civil War to the War on Terror is just foolish and bad historical thinking. I am guessing that the film makers want to make the argument that the Lincoln assassination led to a period of paranoia and the abuse of power on the part of the federal government. Civil liberties were trampled upon and a "nation" (the Confederacy) was occupied by an invading army which was to be challenged by heroic insurgents in bed sheets and hoods. This is stupid. I do want to see a mini-series about the Lincoln assassination get made, but I hope that the film makers do not try to play petty, partisan politics with the subject matter.

For anyone interested: About ten years ago TNT made a movie on the Lincoln assassination entitled The Day Lincoln Was Shot. The movie was based on Jim Bishop's book also titled The Day Lincoln Was Shot. The movie was OK, but pales in comparison to other Ted Turner Civil War films.