‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ Episode 3, Release Date, Time, and Where to Watch

TNT is moving fast with its new political thriller, and viewers who just finished the two part premiere of ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ will not have to wait long for more. The limited series stars Joel Kinnaman and follows the first two episodes with a third installment arriving the very next night. The pacing is unusual for a cable drama, and it reflects how confident TNT appears to be in the story’s momentum.

The series was created by Daniel Stiepleman and Jonathan Wakeham, with a script credited to Leslie Greif, Graham Sack, Stiepleman, and Wakeham. It draws from the memoir ‘Debriefing the President’ by John Nixon and follows the CIA analyst as he becomes the first American to interrogate Saddam Hussein after his capture in December 2003.

‘High Value Target’ Episode 3 Release Date and Time

TNT confirmed that the eight episode season launched on Sunday, September 13 at 9 p.m. ET with two episodes back to back. A third episode then follows on Monday, September 14 at 9 p.m., breaking from the usual weekly rollout most limited series follow.

After that initial burst, new episodes settle into a pattern of airing on subsequent Sundays and Mondays, building toward the season finale on Sunday, October 4. That means Episode 4 is scheduled for Sunday, September 20, followed by Episode 5 on Monday, September 21, as the show continues its two night per week release through the rest of its run.

The decision to front load three episodes within roughly 24 hours is an aggressive way to launch a show, but industry observers have noted it could work well for this particular story. Rather than stretching out the setup over several weeks, the network appears intent on getting Nixon face to face with Hussein as quickly as possible.

For anyone keeping track of the schedule on their DVR or streaming app, the key detail is that ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ does not follow a single weekly night. Sundays and Mondays are both premiere nights until the series wraps up in October.

Where to Watch ‘The Hunt for Saddam’

‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ is airing as a TNT special presentation, with expectations that it will land on HBO Max later in the year. For now, the most straightforward way to catch new episodes as they premiere is through a live TNT feed, whether that comes from a traditional cable package or a live TV streaming service.

Services such as YouTube TV carry TNT as part of their channel lineups and offer free trial periods for new subscribers who want to watch live. That option gives viewers access to the Sunday and Monday premieres in real time, along with cloud DVR features for anyone who wants to catch up later.

Outside the United States, the series is also reaching audiences in the MENA region, where it began airing on September 9 exclusively through the WATCH IT platform. That earlier regional release has already given some international viewers a head start on episodes that U.S. audiences are only now catching up to.

Beyond TNT’s own scheduling, various streaming trackers list the show as newly available, though full on demand access through additional platforms had not been widely rolled out at the time of the premiere. Viewers without cable access may find live TV streaming bundles the most reliable path until the series migrates to a standalone streaming home.

Cast and Story Behind ‘The Hunt for Saddam’

Kinnaman stars as John Nixon opposite Waleed Zuaiter as Saddam Hussein, with the two actors carrying the bulk of the series through a string of interrogation sequences. The supporting cast includes Lena Góra, Dar Salim, Tom Berenger, and Christopher McDonald, with production traveling to Egypt and locations around Cairo to recreate both Iraq and Washington.

The official synopsis describes the eight episode political thriller as the story of Nixon, the first CIA officer to interrogate Hussein following his capture, and the high stakes exchanges that follow as Nixon searches for weapons of mass destruction and confronts the far reaching consequences of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Critics have noted that across the first three episodes, Nixon shifts from an overlooked desk analyst to a field agent and eventually becomes central to locating Hussein’s hiding place.

Reviewers have pointed out that the pacing is deliberate, with Hussein not actually captured until midway through the third episode. The interrogation scenes that follow have been singled out as the strongest material in the series, with Zuaiter’s performance drawing particular praise for its gravitas.

Critical Reception So Far

Reception to the early episodes has been mixed but far from dismissive. The Hollywood Reporter praised Kinnaman’s lead performance and pointed to a couple of strong episodes in the middle of the season, while also criticizing how much fictionalization and contrivance is layered into the adaptation of Nixon’s memoir.

Other reviewers have highlighted the show’s sober analysis of the Iraq War’s consequences and the geopolitical role Hussein’s dictatorship played leading up to the conflict, even while noting that the series sometimes tells audiences what to think rather than letting the drama speak for itself. Series developer Leslie Greif has explained that archival news footage was woven into episodes for three reasons, functioning as a primary historical source, helping younger viewers understand the War on Terror, and reinforcing the emotional weight of the story.

Greif has said he believes the series feels just as relevant now as it would have in 2006, given how much the consequences of the Iraq War and other Middle East conflicts continue to shape global politics. That framing suggests the show is aiming for more than a straightforward historical recap, positioning itself instead as commentary on decisions whose effects are still being felt.

With three episodes now available and five more on the way before the October finale, ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ has set an unusually brisk pace for a limited series built around one of the most scrutinized moments in recent American foreign policy. Readers who have watched the early episodes are invited to weigh in on how Kinnaman and Zuaiter are handling the Nixon and Hussein dynamic so far.