The “Your Friends & Neighbors” star appears as Fred Heckman, a beloved radio reporter who interviews a hostage-taker in the 1970s.

American Hostage first look: Jon Hamm reprises podcast role in The Night Agent creator’s new thriller (exclusive)

The "Your Friends & Neighbors" star appears as Fred Heckman, a beloved radio reporter who interviews a hostage-taker in the 1970s.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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May 5, 2026 3:00 p.m. ET

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Jon Hamm as Fred Heckman in 'American Hostage' first look. Credit:

Steven Ackerman/MGM+/Sony Pictures Television

- Jon Hamm stars as a radio reporter interviewing a hostage-taker in first look at *American Hostage*.

- Based on the first season of the scripted *American Hostage* podcast, the series dramatizes a real-world incident in 1977.

- "In many ways, I think this is the most moral man I've seen Jon Hamm play," co-creator Shawn Ryan tells EW.

Still reeling from word of *The Night Agent* ending with season 4? Here's an exclusive first look at what creator Shawn Ryan has coming next.

Ryan teamed up with Eileen Myers (*Big Love*, *Mad Dogs*) for the 1970s-set *American Hostage*, which returns Jon Hamm to a role he previously performed for the scripted podcast of the same name — this time in live-action.

Based on the first season of that 2022 audio series, the new psychological thriller sees the *Mad Men* and *Your Friends & Neighbors* star as Fred Heckman, a beloved Indianapolis radio reporter who finds himself at the center of a crisis when a hostage-taker demands to be interviewed for his popular news program.

Ryan describes Fred as "a man of strong morals, with deep integrity" that are challenged through the hostage crisis. "Fred believes in the mission of journalism, speaking truth to power and is a strong family man," the co-showrunner and executive producer writes to ** over email. "In many ways, I think this is the most moral man I've seen Jon Hamm play. The trouble for Fred comes when his personal life intersects with this crisis."

Similar to the podcast, the series dramatizes a real-world incident. In 1977, a man named Tony Kiritsis held his mortgage broker, Richard "Dick" Hall, hostage with a shotgun strapped to the back of his head. Dick earlier refused Tony an extension after falling behind on his mortgage payments. The kidnapper made frequent calls to Fred at radio station WIBC in demanding justice.

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Giovanni Ribisi and Kristoffer Polaha star as Tony and Dick, respectively, while Mireille Enos plays Barbara, Fred's wife who becomes the liaison to Ibby (Kat Cunning), Dick's wife. "I think one of the strongest moments of the series is when Fred feels compelled to publicly reveal a family secret to earn Tony's trust and avert a deadly end to the crisis, but causes a rupture in his marriage as a result," Ryan writes to EW.

The podcast became a jumping-off point for the new series, as Myers describes expanding the world of Indianapolis and creating new characters. "One of the pros was having Jon Hamm’s voice in our heads as we were writing," the other co-showrunner relays of the adaptation process. "I didn’t feel like there were cons, just that we needed to rethink and reinvent."

*American Hostage*, also executive produced by Hamm, further deviates from the source material by digging into Fred's past with his father "and how some painful experiences there inform his current dilemma," Myers explains. "Fred is pushed to his limit over these three days — he wants to do the right thing but it’s at a great personal cost — Shawn mentioned the tension it creates in his marriage. It also puts his job and legacy at risk and jeopardizes his deep friendship with his colleague Ben Hairston [William Jackson Harper]."

Mireille Enos and Jon Hamm as Barbara and Fred Heckman in 'American Hostage' first look.

Steven Ackerman/MGM+/Sony Pictures Television

The main cast also features Jonathan Tucker (*Kingdom*) in the recurring role of FBI Special Agent Cormac McNally.

It was Ryan and Myers' personal connections to the original podcast that made the material feel cinematic. The former writes about living through the '70s and growing up in Illinois. For Myers, her father used to work for *ABC News*. She wanted to depict "the energy and excitement of a news station contrasted with the hushed tension of the dimly lit control rooms with all the switches and lights."

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Ryan adds how he "started conjuring what these conversations between Tony and Fred on live radio might look like," saying, "I got very excited by the intimate *Playhouse 90* vibe of the whole thing. Tony leading Dick Hall by the end of a shotgun through wintery Indianapolis as police officers stood idly by, starkly contrasted by the intimate radio conversations between Fred and Tony all felt delicious to me."

Shot in Winnipeg, Canada, the eight-episode *American Hostage* will air on MGM+ this fall.

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