Miniseries – The Looming Tower

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2:56

Feb 2018

Drama

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88%

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60 Reviews

69%

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500+ Ratings

"The Looming Tower" traces the rising threat of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida in the late '90s and how a rivalry between the FBI and CIA during the time period may have inadvertently set the path for the attacks of 9/11. The series follows members of the I-49 Squad in New York and Alec Station in Washington, D.C. -- the counterterrorism divisions of the FBI and CIA, respectively -- as they travel around the world, fighting for ownership of information while seemingly working toward a common goal of preventing an imminent attack on American soil. The drama is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name by Lawrence Wright.

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Critics Consensus

Well-acted and powerfully written, The Looming Tower delivers gripping counter-terrorism drama rendered even more soberingly effective through its roots in real-life events.

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Lauren Carroll Harris

Guardian

Aug 5, 2019

This miniseries is talky and dense, and the material is fascinating for politics junkies.

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Ed Power

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Apr 29, 2019

4/5

What was surprising was how much of a high-octane rollercoaster the first episode was.

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Suzi Feay

Financial Times

Apr 19, 2019

4/5

As volatile, womanising FBI agent John O'Neill, [Jeff Daniels] no less all-American but revelling in a foul-mouthed, all-guns-blazing role taken from the sort of real life that's stranger than fiction.

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Euan Ferguson

Observer (UK)

Apr 29, 2019

The Looming Tower is quite the piece of kit.

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Chris Cabin

Collider

Dec 29, 2018

2/5

The problem is that The Looming Tower doesn't communicate much more than research.

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Carol B

@Carol44 Sep 12, 2026

This follows John O’Neill played by Jeff Daniel’s and how no one listened to him. What a wonderful man he was as he knew what he was talking about and was ignored. All the actors in this film were excellent and I have watched this film a few times. I was visiting my son Dean in Atlanta and arrived on the Saturday. On the Sunday when this happened 9/11 my son in the UK Christopher rang to say and I quote "Mum Mum switch your tv on as the twin towers are being hit by planes. We turned the tv on and watched as the second plane hit the second twin tower. It was such a sad day for the whole world as so many lives were lost including John O’ Neill as he was in the twin tower helping people to escape. The whole world mourned this day.

Gareth v

@geewah Jun 24, 2023

Excellent series that looks at the infighting between the FBI and the CIA throughout the 1990's and the rise of Al-Qaeda in that same period. Well cast & cleverly written. One of 2018's best shows.

jeff b

@RT54874440 Apr 12, 2021

Watching in 2021 - a good overview of the events leading up to 9/11. Good acting and a great cast. Hopefully the FBI and CIA got their acts together after this embarrassing show of ego's within each departments head.

Feb 4, 2021

It's never as gripping, nor as insightful, as its Pulitzer Prize-winning source material, but The Looming Tower is a well-acted and painfully resonant exploration of the unchecked personalities, internal warfare and frustrating failures at American intelligence agencies prior to 9/11.

Feb 3, 2021

The same clumsy mistakes the Congress, Senate, FBI & CIA made in fighting foreign terrorism & the run-up to 9/11, we are re-making in the fight against conspirscy-based domestic terrorism. "We don't need to attack the United States. We will bankrupt them." said Usama bin Laden in the interview he gave before 9/11. He didn't only mean money.

Jan 1, 2021

An excellent series. How many got to see this. Should be broadcast on regular channels. A real jewel

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Craig Zisk

Director

Jeff Daniels

John O'Neill

Tahar Rahim

Ali Soufan

Wrenn Schmidt

Diane Marsh

Bill Camp

Robert Chesney

Louis Cancelmi

Vince Stuart

Episode 1

Aired Feb 28, 2018

Now It Begins ...

John O'Neill, the chief of the FBI's counter-terrorism unit, invites rookie agent Ali Soufan, a Muslim-American, onto his squad; they soon realize that their work is just the beginning when two American embassies are bombed.

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Episode 2

Aired Feb 28, 2018

Losing My Religion

Following the simultaneous embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, the FBI begins a ground investigation while the CIA starts working on a retaliation plan.

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Episode 3

Aired Feb 28, 2018

Mistakes Were Made

The FBI finds one of the surviving terrorists and discovers a game-changing lead in Nairobi; the CIA's retaliation plan is approved.

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Episode 4

Aired Mar 7, 2018

Mercury

Continuing to keep information from the FBI, Schmidt is fired from Alec Station; Diane makes an important discovery about the owner of the phone number Owhali gave Chensey; O'Neill searches for solace in his faith.

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Episode 5

Aired Mar 14, 2018

Y2K

The CIA and FBI are on high alert as threats surrounding the new millennium abound; O'Neill and Soufan raid an AQ cell in Brooklyn; the CIA continues to hide vital information from the FBI while they track suspicious individuals entering the U.S.

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Episode 6

Aired Mar 21, 2018

Boys at War

Vince continues asking for permission to share Mihdhar's visa with the FBI; O'Neill loses his briefcase and an investigation into his handling of classified materials begins; a radicalized boy goes to Yemen to start his own martyrdom journey.

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Episode 7

Aired Mar 28, 2018

The General

O'Neill and Soufan travel to Yemen to begin the investigation into the bombing of the USS Cole; the FBI becomes aware of a meeting in Malaysia and of Khallad, without knowing the CIA has been aware of both of those things for months.

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Episode 8

Aired Apr 4, 2018

A Very Special Relationship

Everyone adjusts to a new president and, with it, a shift in threat priority; Soufan learns the importance of UBL's bodyguard; O'Neill is denied re-entry into Yemen and forced to resign; the terrorists in the U.S. are lost by their handler.

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Episode 9

Aired Apr 11, 2018

Tuesday

The CIA becomes aware that Hazmi and Mihdhar are gone and must relay that to the FBI; O'Neill accepts a job as head of security at the World Trade Center; Soufan is sent back to Yemen; Hazmi, Mihdhar and Atta head to Vegas for a final indulgence.

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Episode 10

Aired Apr 18, 2018

9/11

Nobody can get a hold of O'Neill on Sept. 11, 2001; Soufan's evacuation from Yemen stops short as the CIA Station Chief gives him the answers he has been seeking from the CIA; Schmidt is reinstated into Alec Station; Soufan interrogates Abu Jandal.

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