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You Must Watch ‘Manhattan’: 5 Reasons Why It’s A PERFECT Summer Binge

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Manhattan

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Summer is the season when you finally have time to kick back, relax, and stream whatever you want. Unfortunately, summer is also the season when all of your favorite shows go on hiatus. That means it’s time to catch up on the good stuff that fell through the cracks and you absolutely must start with Manhattan — the show, not the Woody Allen film.*

Despite its name, Manhattan has nothing to do with the New York City borough. Rather, it’s a riveting drama that follows the lives of the people behind the Manhattan Project. The nation’s most brilliant minds all live together on a remote and secret base in Los Alamos, New Mexico. They’re working round the clock to tame the atom and to create a bomb that can destroy a city, murder tens of thousands, and end a horrific war. If they don’t figure out how to do it before Hitler’s team does, we don’t just lose the war, but we lose the power to police all future nuclear wars. The catch is that their wives and children also live on this base, and they’re completely in the dark about what’s going on.

As good as it is, it’s okay if it’s flown under your radar so far. After all, Manhattan was only WGN America’s second original scripted series after Salem. But here are five reasons why you can’t sleep on it anymore.

 

1

It's Perfect For Your 'Mad Men' Withdrawals

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WGN America

Yes, Mad Men is over. It’s kaput. It’s done-zo. It’s okay to still not be over it. After all, it didn’t just signify a pop culture moment; it was a wonderful television show. Manhattan might be just the thing to fill the void.

As we pointed out a few weeks ago, Manhattan is another vintage workplace drama filled to the brim with cool throwback style and an ensemble of richly-drawn characters. Its leading man, Dr. Frank Winter (John Benjamin Hickey), is a brilliant genius who must juggle office politics, dangerous secrets, and his wife’s domestic ennui. Sound like anyone Jon Hamm played?

2

It's 'The Imitation Game' With Atomic Bombs

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WGN America

The Imitation Game might have been defined by Benedict Cumberbatch’s mesmerizing portrayal of Dr. Alan Turing, but my personal favorite part of the film was watching the all the tension and interpersonal drama at Bletchley Park. I wanted more Matthew Goode being a cocky bastard! More Keira Knightley fighting the patriarchy! More science being used to beat the Nazis! More nerds getting drunk, trying to flirt, and being accused by their superiors of being spies! More, more, more!!!!

Well, Manhattan is exactly that: it’s just like The Imitation Game‘s Bletchley Park scenes — but more. While the mathematicians at Bletchley Park were trying to crack codes, the physicists in Los Alamos were trying to split the atom and create a nuclear bomb. Needless to say, tensions are high and things get rather explosive.

3

It's An Addictive Drama That Doesn't Feel Dumbed Down

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WGN America

Show runners will do a lot of crazy things to get audiences to tune into their shows. They pump programs full of insane plot twists, gratuitous sex scenes, disgusting gore, and truly bonkers visuals.

Manhattan is overflowing with backstabbing and war games. There’s juicy sex, a lesbian flirtation, and murder. However, Manhattan never dumbs itself down to hook its audience. Every surprising character reveal feels natural and every shocking moment is rooted in the reality of the time period. Because the characters are so well-written, and because the show is about a time of extreme tension, the drama is merely what happens when all of the forces present collide.

4

It Has AMAZING Female Characters

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WGN America

A show about the men behind the Manhattan Project could have been a massive misogynistic sausage fest, and yet Manhattan features some of the most interesting and compelling portraits of women on television. First of all there’s the other Dr. Winter — Frank’s genius botanist wife Liza (Olivia Williams) — who has had to sacrifice her work during the war. Then there’s socialite-turned-switchboard operator Abby Isaacs (Rachel Brosnahan). She originally wanted her wunderkind husband to work for her father, but is glowing with all the attention she gets by being a young genius’ wife. Dr. Helen Prins (Katja Herbers) is the one woman and lone PhD on Frank’s team of scrappy up-and-coming scientists. And then there’s Callie, the Winters’ restless daughter, the computers, the maids, and all the wives living in Los Alamos without any clue what their husbands are doing.

The show is just as interested with the culture that the women are creating for themselves as it is with the race to build the atomic bomb, and so the female characters are all are each treated with respect and sensitivity. It’s all kinds of awesome.

5

The Whole First Season Is On Hulu Plus

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WGN America

You might have missed Manhattan when it aired last summer on WGN America, but it’s easy to catch up now. The entire first season is available to stream on Hulu Plus. Since the second season won’t debut until the fall, that means you have the whole summer to savor each and every episode, or you can binge it all this weekend. Either way, you’re in for a spellbinding slow burn that’s just going to claw into you and leave you wanting more. [Watch Manhattan]

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