The Night Agent Creator’s Next Show Revealed In First-Look Images Ahead Of Netflix Hit’s Final Season

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Now that The Night Agent has finished, its creator is already working on a new show, and we’ve gotten our first glimpse at what it will look like.

Created by Shawn Ryan and inspired by Matthew Quirk’s novel, The Night Agent is a thrilling action series on Netflix. It centers around an FBI agent at the bottom of the ladder who unexpectedly gets caught up in a high-stakes conspiracy reaching the White House. The show debuted in 2023 and quickly became a hit, ranking among Netflix’s most popular titles. A fourth and final season is currently being filmed and is expected to be released between late 2026 and early 2027.

As a big fan of Shawn Ryan’s work – I loved The Night Agent – I was excited to see a first look at his next project, American Hostage. Entertainment Weekly just revealed some images, and it’s great to see Jon Hamm stepping back into the role of radio reporter Fred Heckman, a character he originally played in the podcast. Mireille Enos is playing his wife, Barbara, and the pictures look really promising! You can check them out in the slideshow below.

Shawn Ryan is teaming up with Eileen Myers (known for shows like Big Love and Mad Dogs) to create American Hostage. The series is based on the first season of the 2022 podcast of the same name and stars Jon Hamm as Fred Heckman, a well-known radio journalist in Indianapolis during the 1970s. The story follows Fred as he gets caught up in a dangerous situation when a hostage-taker demands to be interviewed on his popular news show.

Similar to the podcast it’s based on, this series tells the story of a real event. In 1977, Tony Kiritsis (played by Giovanni Ribisi) held his mortgage broker, Richard “Dick” Hall (played by Kristoffer Polaha), hostage. He did this after Hall refused to give him more time to pay his overdue mortgage, and Kiritsis rigged a shotgun to the back of Hall’s head.

Throughout the difficult situation, Kiritsis constantly called Fred’s radio show on WIBC, asking for someone to help him. At the same time, Fred’s wife, Barbara, acted as a messenger, talking with Dick’s wife, Ibby, who was played by Kat Cunning. Jonathan Tucker, known from the show Kingdom, also appears in the series as FBI Special Agent Cormac McNally.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-showrunner and executive producer Shawn Ryan characterized Fred as a man with a strong moral compass and unwavering integrity, qualities that will be challenged when the situation unfolds.

Fred is a dedicated journalist who believes in holding those in power accountable, and he’s also a devoted family man. I believe Jon Hamm portrays him as one of the most morally upright characters he’s ever played. However, Fred faces difficulties when his personal life gets tangled up in a major crisis. A particularly powerful moment in the series is when he feels forced to share a deeply personal family secret to gain Tony’s trust and prevent a disaster, but this decision ultimately damages his marriage.

The podcast was the starting point for the series, and co-showrunner Eileen Myers says it helped them expand the story’s location in Indianapolis and add new characters. She particularly enjoyed having Jon Hamm’s voice in mind while writing, noting, “It was a real benefit.” Myers doesn’t see any downsides, only opportunities to revisit and reimagine aspects of the story.

Additionally, American Hostage differs from the source material by delving into Fred’s relationship with his father and explaining how past difficulties within that relationship contribute to his present struggles, according to Myers.

Over three difficult days, Fred is stretched to his breaking point, struggling to do what’s right despite the significant personal sacrifices it demands. Shawn noted this is causing strain in Fred’s marriage, and it also threatens his career, reputation, and long-standing friendship with Ben Hairston [William Jackson Harper].

Both Ryan and Myers believe the story’s strong visual feel comes from their personal connections to the original podcast. Ryan used his own childhood experiences growing up in Illinois in the 1970s as inspiration. Myers, whose father worked at ABC News, focused on recreating the contrast between the lively atmosphere of a newsroom and the quiet, tense environment of the control room, filled with equipment and lights.

Ryan thought a lot about what conversations between Tony and Fred might sound like on the radio. He was particularly drawn to the old-fashioned, close-up feel of shows like Playhouse 90. He found a compelling contrast between the dramatic image of Tony leading Dick Hall through snowy Indianapolis – with police seemingly doing nothing – and the private, personal conversations he imagined between Fred and Tony. He described this combination as very appealing.

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2026-05-06 02:49