WGN breaks into original programming with dramas about the Manhattan Project and Salem witch trials
WGN—the Chicago TV station which became a cable mainstay by providing America with a steady supply of Cubs games and only the finest in sitcom reruns—is dipping its toes into original programming. The channel's latest pickup is Manhattan, from Masters Of Sex writer Sam Shaw, a 1940s period drama about the scientists working in Los Alamos, NM on the invention of the atomic bomb. Former West Wing director Thomas Schalmme will direct the show's 13-episode first season, so expect a lot of walk-and-talks between Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves.