Manhattan: Season One

Set on the Los Alamos, NM, military base in the early 1940s, Manhattan centers on the development of the atomic bomb. John Benjamin Hickey and Olivia Williams lead the ensemble cast as Frank Winter, the brilliant but combative leader of one of the two research teams, and his botanist wife, Liza, who is stifled in the chauvinist culture. Ashley Zukerman and Rachel Brosnahan play new arrivals whose experiences introduce the audience to the surrounding culture. The second original drama from the Chicago cable superstation WGN, Manhattan reaches the level of human drama, social commentary, and historical perspective of shows such as Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, and Masters of Sex. Granted, some of the storylines feature minor stumbles, but at its best the series illuminates both the scientific challenges faced by the competing teams and the tensions between the military structure and the civilian scientists and families on the isolated base in the New Mexico desert as it explores the social world of wartime America (with all its prejudices and anxieties) while also illustrating the huge stakes of the project. Compiling all eight episodes from the 2014 debut season, extras include episode commentaries and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)