“High-stakes” psychological thriller American Hostage has finally landed on Prime Video.
American Hostage is now available to stream on Prime Video(Image: PRIME VIDEO )
American Hostage is the “harrowing” drama fans have been waiting for starring Mad Men and Land Man icon Jon Hamm.
Prime Video released the intense eight-part series that tells of a “high-stakes” kidnapping in 1970s Indianapolis on on Sunday (September 20).
A beloved radio reporter is thrown into a “life or death crisis” when a kidnapper, who continues to point a shotgun at his hostage, demands to speak to him live on air.
With listeners intensely tuning in to their ongoing conversation, the pressure is on as the radio presenter must try to talk down the kidnapper before it’s too late.
Is American Hostage based on a true story?
What makes this new Prime Video drama even more exciting is the fact that it is based on a real-life story.
The radio reporter in question is Fred Heckman (played by Jon Hamm) with American Hostage telling his “harrowing true story” of what happened between him and kidnapper Tony Kiritsis (Giovanni Ribisi).
In real-life, Kiritsis’ victim Richard Hall was an executive at Meridian Mortgage Co which loaned him money three years prior to buy land and set up a shopping centre.
Kiritsis claimed that Meridian steered shops and business owners away from the centre, so he was confronted with the prospect of closing down and forced to default on the loan.
In an act of revenge, Kiritsis took Hall as his hostage and tied a wire around his neck attached to a shotgun that would go off if he made any sudden movements.
Kiritsis then stated that the only person he would talk to was radio personality Fred Heckman of WIBC so he could vent his feelings about Meridian live on air.
He released Hall on February 10, 1977, after holding him hostage for 63 hours.
Kiritsis was charged with kidnapping, armed extortion and armed robbery but was acquitted by reason of insanity and spent the next decade in psychiatric care.
American Hostage is based on the first season of the scripted podcast of the same name from Shawn Christensen and brought to life for the small screen by Netflix ’s The Night Agent creator Shawn Ryan.
American Hostage is available to watch on Prime Video