Hulu has released a newThe Looming Towertrailer. Based onLawrence Wright’s book of the same name, the story tracks the rise of Al-Qaeda and the intelligence failures that ultimately led to 9/11. I read the book when it came out, and what stuck with me is how it tracks not onlyOsama Bin Laden, but his #2,Ayman al-Zawahiri(who is still out there, by the way). However, it looks like Hulu’s limited series is based more in the U.S. and follows the rivalry between the FBI and the CIA that inadvertently led to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
From a business perspective, that makes sense. Even though a mini-series following Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri would certainly be interesting, there aren’t actors who are “big” enough to be a draw, so in order to get the financing you need, you have to land names likeJeff Daniels,Alec Baldwin, andPeter Sarsgaard. That’s not to say the limited series will be bad; just that you should definitely check out Wright’s book for a fuller picture of what happened.
Check outThe Looming Towertrailer below. The series premieres on February 28th and also starsMichael Stuhlbarg,Bill Camp, andTahar Rahim.
Here’s the official synopsis forThe Looming Tower.
Based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning book, The Looming Tower traces the rising threat of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda in the late 1990s and how the rivalry between the FBI and CIA during that time may have inadvertently set the path for the tragedy of 9/11. The series follows members of the I-49 Squad in New York and Alec Station in Washington, D.C., the counter-terrorism divisions of the FBI and CIA, respectively, as they travel the world fighting for ownership of information while seemingly working toward the same goal – trying to prevent an imminent attack on U.S. soil.
