Watch Paul Bettany Play Ted Kaczynski in 'Manhunt: Unabomber' Trailer (original) (raw)

Published on June 5, 2017 03:07PM EDT

Paul Bettany is getting under the skin — and hoodie — of one of the country’s most disturbing and cunning domestic terrorists.

The British actor stars as Ted Kaczynski in Discovery’s Manhunt: Unabomber, an eight-episode drama that focuses on the search for the elusive person nicknamed the Unabomber who masterminded a 17-year bombing campaign that left three individuals dead and injured 23 others. The academic-turned-recluse vowed to cease his terror against universities, airlines, and others only if his 35,000-word anti-technology manifesto was published, and with the help of Ted’s brother, David (Mark Duplass), and forensic linguistics employed by criminal profiler James “Fitz” Fitzgerald (Sam Worthington), Kaczynski was apprehended.

Above, you can sneak a peek at the explosion-filled trailer for the limited series, which depicts the FBI’s long, frustrating hunt for the suspect based off an incorrect profile. “You figure out the philosophy, you can figure out the man, you can crack the code,” says Fitzgerald as he urged the feds to look at the Unabomber case in a new light.

“The show has no sympathy for Ted Kaczynski, but it does have empathy for him,” Bettany told EW. “That’s important because otherwise, the conversation stops at ‘monster.’”

Manhunt: Unabomber, which debuts Aug. 1, also stars Chris Noth and Jane Lynch. The series is executive-produced/directed by Greg Yaitanes (House).