Hidden City

Thriller novelist Marcus Sakey knows good stories and how to uncover them. To research his bestselling books, he's shadowed homicide detectives, gone shooting with Special Forces and even learned how to pick a deadbolt. Now in the new original one-hour series, Hidden City, premiering on Monday, December 5 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, Sakey travels the country, city to city, to dig up the less-than-pristine history and reveal the untold story behind each locale, serving as a personal guide to each city's unique past. The premiere episode explores Sakey's hometown of Chicago, the city famous for reinventing itself through its checkered history. Viewers will meet America's first - and maybe worst - serial killer, H.H. Holmes; walk in the footsteps of legendary gangster, John Dillinger; and dig into the 1968 DNC riots, when protestors clashed with police in a battle royale broadcast live to the world. Throughout the 12-episode series, Sakey does whatever it takes to get into the heads of the characters that define the city. In Chicago, police were trained in riot control techniques, so he straps on some pads and picks up a baton; and the protestors were hit with Mace - so Sakey takes a blast right in the eyes. Through it all, he interprets the events as a novelist, looking for the plot, characters and themes that put it all together. (Source: The Travel Channel)