‘High Value Target’ Boss Previews ‘Thought-Provoking’ Saddam Hussein Capture Drama

Twenty years after Saddam Hussein’s execution, the official account of his interrogation is being adapted to television for the first time ever in High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam.

After the U.S. military captured Saddam Hussein (portrayed by Waleed Zuaiter) in Operation Red Dawn, the CIA needed somebody to verify Hussein’s identity and begin the interrogation. Enter CIA analyst John Nixon (Joel Kinnaman), who, through his interactions with one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, came to grips with the geopolitical ramifications following Hussein’s capture.

In 2016, the real John Nixon published his memoir Debriefing the President, which inspired the series. Nixon is listed as an executive producer on the show, and coexecutive producer Leslie Greif acknowledges that his heavy involvement with High Value Target allowed the series to represent Nixon’s experiences as realistically as possible.

The show’s depiction of Nixon and Hussein’s first confrontation, set halfway in the series, is “based on transcripts of two men sitting across from one another talking about how they feel and what they believe,” says Greif. 

Warner Bros.

For added realism, episodes also feature archival news footage from the events depicted, which Greif explains in an email Q&A serves three purposes at once. First, the footage acts as a primary source, allowing viewers to see history as it actually occurred. Second, it explains the War on Terror to people who barely remember it and vividly re-immerses those who do into that time period. Finally, it drives home the emotional core of the story.

“Seeing Saddam Hussein emerging from his hole, actual news footage of Uday and Qusay Hussein dead, clips of the Iraqi uprising and roadside bombings is far more impactful than any dramatization could ever be,” writes Greif. 

As the world still reckons with the consequences of the Iraq War and other conflicts in the Middle East, Greif believes that the series feels just as timely now as it would have been in 2006.

“What we didn’t realize at the outset was how resonant it would become given the current geopolitical situation,” writes Greif. “Hussein’s ominous warning about Iran and the region makes our series incredibly timely. The fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime and his execution set in motion a cause and effect we are living today.” 

Ultimately, High Value Target, much like its source material, promises to hold nothing back in its examination of the War on Terror. Greif says High Value Target encourages the audience to make their own judgments: “We made an effort neither to vilify nor justify — High Value Target is meant to be thought-provoking.”

High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam, Series Premiere, September 13, 9/8c, TNT