‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ Episode 5 Release Date, Time and Where to Watch

TNT’s political thriller ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ has kept a brisk pace since its premiere, and viewers following Joel Kinnaman’s portrayal of CIA analyst John Nixon are now approaching the show’s fifth chapter. The limited series has structured its rollout around consecutive premiere nights rather than a single weekly slot, which has made tracking each new episode a bit more involved than usual.

For anyone catching up on ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ or simply trying to plan their week around it, here is what has been confirmed about the next episode, along with context on where the story stands and how it has been received so far.

‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ Episode 5 Release Date

The fifth episode of ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ is scheduled to premiere on Monday, September 21, at 9 p.m. ET and PT on TNT. The episode is titled Enemy of My Enemy and follows John as he ignores his orders and enters hostile territory, where the mission turns into a dangerous pursuit.

This continues the unusual release pattern TNT chose for the series. The network launched the show with two episodes back to back on Sunday, September 13, before shifting to single episodes released on alternating Sunday and Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET. That pattern carried through the fourth episode, which aired the night before episode five. TNT released a sneak peek clip ahead of the episode, noting that the show continues with its fourth episode on Sunday before the fifth follows on Monday at the same time.

Following episode five, the series is not taking a break. Episode 6, titled The Devil You Know, is set to premiere on September 27, picking up after John returns from Najaf and grows convinced that Iran poses a growing threat, prompting him to try to persuade the White House. The eight episode season is scheduled to conclude with its finale on Sunday, October 4.

Where to Watch ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’

New episodes of ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ air exclusively on TNT at their scheduled premiere times. Viewers can also stream TNT through a supported live TV streaming service that carries the network for those without traditional cable access.

For anyone who wants to revisit earlier episodes before diving into the new installment, catch up options exist beyond the initial broadcast. Viewers can catch up on the season at TNTDrama.com with a valid cable subscription. This makes it possible to watch the season in order rather than jumping in partway through the story.

Given that the series airs on two different nights each week, it is worth double checking local listings, since time zone differences and regional scheduling can occasionally shift when an episode becomes available outside the eastern and pacific broadcast windows.

What Has Happened So Far in ‘The Hunt for Saddam’

The series opens with John Nixon working a desk job in CIA intelligence research before pushing his way into the field once President Bush announces the operation to capture Saddam Hussein. Nixon is an expert on Iraq who longs to be a field operative but is stuck working intelligence research before the invasion changes his trajectory.

The hunt itself does not resolve quickly. Saddam is not actually captured until midway through the third episode, with the show taking its time to establish historical context and the political backdrop of the invasion first. That slower build has been a point of discussion among critics, since the series spends real time on setup before its central interrogation storyline begins.

By the fourth episode, the story shifts into its most anticipated phase. John finally comes face to face with Saddam Hussein while insurgent attacks continue across Baghdad, setting up the direct confrontations the series has been building toward. Episode five then pushes John further from procedure, as he defies orders and heads into hostile territory, turning what began as an intelligence operation into something more physically dangerous.

The Real Story Behind ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’

The series is not a work of pure fiction. It is inspired by the memoir Debriefing the President by CIA analyst John Nixon, who became the first CIA officer to interrogate Saddam Hussein following his capture in December 2003. Waleed Zuaiter plays Saddam Hussein opposite Kinnaman’s Nixon, anchoring the interrogation scenes that make up the show’s dramatic core.

Series developer Leslie Greif has described the intent behind the project in direct terms. Greif told TVInsider that the production made a deliberate effort neither to vilify nor justify its subject, with the goal of making the series thought provoking rather than one sided.

That framing matters given how politically charged the source material is. The War on Terror and the Bush Administration’s search for weapons of mass destruction remain among the most consequential geopolitical events of the twenty first century, and the fallout from no WMDs being found continues to shape how the war is remembered. The show leans into that tension rather than avoiding it, using the Nixon Saddam exchanges as a lens for examining the invasion’s broader consequences.

Critical Reception of ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’

Reviews for the series have been mixed but not dismissive. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season held a 100 percent approval rating based on five critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.5 out of 10, while Metacritic gave the show a score of 53 out of 100 based on six critics, indicating mixed or average reviews.

Individual critic takes reflect that split. One review noted that despite its flaws, the eight part series manages to provide something engaging and fresh by telling Nixon’s story, even as the pacing feels slow early on and Kinnaman’s character is difficult for audiences to fully get behind. Another assessment argued that the series stretches its political material into an overlong chronicle that can feel bland in places. That review described the show as bordering on a jingoistic perspective at times, even while acknowledging the significance of the events it dramatizes.

Not every response has been lukewarm. A Screen Rant review scored the series 6 out of 10, describing it as a politically charged war drama that goes above and beyond its thematic brief, even if it does not deliver thrills to match its sharper analysis. The general consensus so far points to a series more interested in ideas and interrogation room tension than in traditional action beats.

As ‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’ pushes into its back half with John crossing lines he was ordered not to, viewers who have followed Nixon’s transformation from analyst to reluctant field operative may have their own read on whether his choice in episode five is justified or a step too far.