As hard as it is to believe, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that claimed three lives and resulted in nearly 300 injuries. Over the years, there have been multiple movies, documentaries, and news specials diving into nearly every aspect of the deadly terrorist attack, but few come close to the scope and scale of the new Netflix title, American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing.
If you have heard about the true crime docuseries but don’t want to go in blind, don’t worry, because we have a breakdown of five things to know before you watch, including its basic premise, tone, rating, and how long it will take you to watch it from beginning to end.
American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing Chronicles The April 2013 Terrorist Attack And Aftermath
As the name suggests, American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing tells the full story of the terrorist attack that rocked a city and nation, on Patriots Day 2013. This includes in-depth coverage of the events that led to the denotation of two bombs near the finish line, the investigation by local, state, and federal authorities as they attempt to identify the suspects, and the days-long manhunt for brothers Dzkokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Broken down hour by hour, the gripping docuseries leaves no stone unturned and no story untold.
Interviews With Survivors, Investigators And Reporters Piece Together The Story
Like a lot of documentaries and docuseries about terrorist attacks and other major events, this one features a massive number of interviews with those who experienced it first-hand. This includes everyone from people waiting at the finish line when the first explosion went off, to the first responders who saved countless lives, the investigators on the case, and reporters who covered it along the way.
One of the more intense of these interviews is with the man who was kidnapped by the Tsarnaev brothers days after they brought terror to the streets of Boston.
The Docuseries Is Intense And Disturbing
American Manhunt: The Boston Bombing Marathon is an intense and disturbing documentary series that doesn’t hold back when it comes to depictions of violence and mass terror. Very early on in the series, you are subjected to the two explosions from multiple angles, several of which show severely wounded people and a lot of blood.
This is also true later in the docuseries when security camera footage of the Tsarnaev brothers engaged in a shootout with police officers in Watertown, Massachusetts. If you don’t want to relive the fear, intensity, and violence of the attack and its aftermath, maybe sit this one out.
American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing Is Split Into Three Episodes
American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing consists of three episodes ranging from 52 to 62 minutes in length. Each of these installments focuses on a different part of the story, with the first – “White Hat, Black Hat” – tackling the initial attack and early stages of the investigation, the second – “The American Dream” – detailing the Tsarnaev brothers’ past, and the finale – “You Can’t Identify a Corpse” – shedding light on the intense standoff and lingering effects of the terror attack.
The Docuseries Is Rated TV-MA
As mentioned earlier, the docuseries has multiple depictions of extreme violence and bloodshed, so it should come as no surprise that it is rated TV-MA. This is due to said violence and disturbing images, as well as extreme language throughout it’s nearly three-hour runtime.
American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing is currently streaming for anyone with an active Netflix subscription. If you want to see what else the steamer, which is home to some of the best true crime shows streaming, has coming out this year, check out our 2023 Netflix TV show premiere guide.
Stream American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing on Netflix.
