'American Hostage,' 'Deadman's Wire,' 'Ponies' bring us back to the '70s

May 12 (UPI) -- Storytellers for stage and screen seem once again to be enamored by the gritty, low-tech, brown-orange-and-mustard, polyester world of the 1970s.

The past couple of years have seen numerous true stories from the era made into films and TV shows, while remakes of classics from the '70s and original content that takes place in the decade of anti-heroes, disco music, the Vietnam War and the Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter administrations abounds.

Here are 11 projects that are either coming up or that you might have missed.

'Dead Man's Wire' -- Premieres on Netflix May 25

The movie is based on the extraordinary true story of how Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgard) held mortgage broker Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery) at gunpoint in a stand-off with police for Lena Headey, 63 hours in 1977 Indianapolis.

The hostage situation became a media circus, with some people championing Kiritsis as a hero for standing up for himself against a company he accused of swindling him out of his life savings.

Pacino plays Hall's cold-hearted father, while Cary Elwes plays a police detective and Colman Domingo plays a radio disc jockey, both of whom try to talk Kiritsis off the ledge before someone gets killed.

'American Hostage' -- Premiering on MGM+ this fall

Based on a scripted podcast of the same name, this eight-part, television thriller tells the same story as Dead Man's Wire, but from a different angle, focusing on Jon Hamm as the DJ, with Giovanni Ribisi playing Kiritsis and Kristoffer Polaha playing Hall.

Mireille Enos, William Jackson Harper and Jonathan Tucker are to co-star.

UPI freelance photographer John H. Blair was only inches away from Kiritsis during the final moments of the crisis, snapping the photo that won him a Pulitzer Prize, as Hall closed his eyes as if preparing for the end.

'Star City' -- Premieres on Apple TV May 29

This is a spin-off of the popular alt-history drama, For All Mankind, which is now in its fifth season.

Set in the early 1970s, the new series follows a group of Soviet cosmonauts, government officials and KGB agents after the U.S.S.R. initially beats the United States in the space race by landing on the moon first.

The companion show co-stars Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin, Agnes O'Casey, Alice Englert and Solly McLeod.

'Ponies' -- Now streaming on Peacock

This spy thriller is set in 1977 Moscow and casts Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson as "persons of no interest" or "ponies," who go to work for the CIA after their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the U.S.S.R.

Adrian Lester, Harriet Walter and Rob Delaney co-star.

'Dog Day Afternoon' -- Now playing on Broadway

Set in 1972 New York City, the fact-based play was written by Stephen Adly Guirgis, based on the 1975 film by Sidney Lumet, which starred Al Pacino and John Cazale.

The stage version features The Bear Emmy winners Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as inexperienced armed robbers Sonny and Sal, who hold bank employees hostage in a 14-hour stand-off with police in Brooklyn.

'Rocky Horror Show' -- Now playing on Broadway

This revival of Richard O'Brien's cult-classic, 1975 Broadway musical stars Luke Evans, Juliette Lewis, Stephanie Hsu, Harvey Guillen, Rachel Dratch and Josh Rivera.

The horror-comedy finds a young couple trapped in the castle of a mad, Dr. Frankenstein-style scientist and is currently up for nine Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.

A 1975 film adaptation starred Tim Curry, Meat Loaf, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick.

'The Way Home' -- Now streaming on Hallmark+

This fantasy series is wrapping up its fourth and final season. It follows multiple generations of the Landry family as they travel through time, thanks to a magical pond on their Canadian farm.

At the center of the story is college-age Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow,) who gets to know her mother Kat (Chyler Leigh) and grandmother Del (Andie Macdowell) on a deeper level by going back in time and seeing what they were like as teens in the 1990s and '70s respectively.

The show co-stars Evan Williams and Spencer MacPherson.

'Minx' -- Now streaming on STARZ

Ophelia Lovibond and Jake Johnson starred in this two-season comedy about a young feminist who teams up with a pornographer to create an erotic magazine for women in 1970s Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Perkins, Guy Burnet, Jessica Lowe, Allison Toman and Susan Walters co-starred in the show, which initially ran from 2022-23.

'The Offer' -- Now streaming on Paramount+

This 2022 limited series told the incredible story about how the 1972 cinematic masterpiece, The Godfather, almost didn't get made because of clashing personalities, budget cuts and organized crime intervention.

It starred Miles Teller, Matthew Goode, Juno Temple, Dano Fogler and Colin Hanks.

'Daisy Jones & the Six' -- Now streaming on Prime Video

This 2023 limited series is based on Taylor Jenkins Reid's best-selling novel of the same name. It follows a faux rock band through their concerts, recording sessions and documentary-style interviews in the 1970s.

The ensemble includes Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Will Harrision, Camila Morrone and Suki Waterhouse.

'White House Plumbers' -- Now streaming on HBO Max

Inspired by the non-fiction book Integrity by Egil and Matthew Krohj, this five-part political satire is about President Nixon's fixers E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux) whose roles in Watergate unintentionally led to Nixon's resignation.

Lena Headey, Domhnall Gleeson, Kiernan Shipka, Judy Greer, Kim Coates, Gary Cole and Toby Huss co-star.

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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 5:03 AM.