Ted Kaczynski might not be the first person brought to mind when kids these days think of the word “serial killer.” There are many other high profile, and more enduring, people to think of who once captured the country’s attention and sowed terror through violence – like Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, or Ted Cruz…I mean, the Zodiac Killer. But Kaczynski – AKA The Unabomber – is still a well-known name and a person that is trying to keep himself in the national conversation by continuing to mail manifestos to mainstream media outlets long after he was imprisoned for life for the crimes he committed in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s.
For those not familiar with Kaczynski’s brutal extracurricular activities, was not only a serial killer but also an anarchist and a domestic terrorist. The Harvard-educated former professor was active between 1978 and 1996 and ultimately killed three people and injured 23 more before being caught and sentenced to eight life sentences without parole. His now-infamous nickname came from the FBI profiler’s nomenclature for the case (UNiversity & Airline BOMber) and was adopted by media as the case wore on over the years. He remains the deadliest serial bomber in history.
Discovery’s upcoming anthology series Manhunt: Unabomber, which just got a first trailer, stars Paul Bettany as the titular terrorist and relives how the FBI tracked and eventually caught Kaczynski with the help of his own family. Besides Bettany, the anthology series’ cast includes Jane Lynch as then-Attorney General Janet Reno, Mark Duplass as Ted’s brother David Kaczynski, Chris Noth, and Brian D’Arcy James. The above trailer makes sure to capture all the hallmarks of The Unabomber’s decades of violence with shots of him building bombs, mailing them to unsuspecting targets, and of course planning his next attack at his notorious cabin in the woods of Montana. The series is set to premiere on August 1st.
