
Scripted series · NBC
Aquarius
Murder. Madness. Manson.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Aquarius actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Aquarius reads strongest on Character Depth, Serialized and Tension.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
In the late 1960s, a Los Angeles police sergeant with a complicated personal life starts tracking a small-time criminal and budding cult leader seeking out vulnerable women to join his “cause.” The name of that man is Charles Manson.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

S01E10
It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
Charlie tests Emma's loyalty. Shafe passes Guapo's test. After his first acid trip, courtesy of Manson, Hodiak helps a fellow detective with a secret.
- Directed by John Dahl

S02E04
Revolution 1
On the day of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, Hodiak must investigate a murder in a black neighborhood while trying to prevent an imminent riot. In the midst of the crisis in the black community, Kristin's involvement with the Black Panthers drives a wedge between her and Shafe's marriage. Meanwhile, Charmain brings the drug case to a close and discovers the full cost of undercover work.

S02E09
Sexy Sadie
Sharon Tate begs for her life but Sadie has no mercy. Manson tries to track down Dennis Wilson. Meanwhile Hodiak finds Emma in a sanatorium, but will need help to get her out. While, an unemployed Ken Karn reunites with an old friend.

S01E01
Everybody's Been Burned
LAPD Detective Sam Hodiak and undercover officer Brian Shafe begin the search for a missing teenage girl, Emma Karn, who has fallen under the spell of infamous cult leader Charles Manson.
- Directed by Jonas Pate
- Written by John McNamara

S01E09
Why?
Charmain's first ride-along ends when her fellow officers are gunned down, the first in a series of cop killings.

S02E11
Can You Take Me Back?
Changes within the police department land Hodiak back in hot water with Internal Affairs, which forces him to adjust to a neutered role in the precinct. Meanwhile, the Manson family's misfortune seems to take a turn for the better when Terry Melcher arrives and wants to record Charlie's music.
Recently aired
Latest Episodes

S02E12
Mother Nature's Son

S02E13
I Will

S02E10
Blackbird

S02E11
Can You Take Me Back?

S02E08
While My Guitar Gently Weeps

S02E09
Sexy Sadie
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Sera GambleExecutive Producer
Writing
- John McNamaraWriter
- Rafael YglesiasWriter
- Sera GambleWriter
Direction
- Jonas PateDirector
- John DahlDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Apple TV StoreBuy
If you liked this
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Where to go from here
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