Rowan Joffé created Nocturne, a thriller based on Lars Kepler’s novel The Sandman, for an Apple airdate of Friday, Oct. 30. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the ten-episode series streams its first seven hours to critics, showcasing Stephen Graham as convicted murderer Jurek Walter and Liev Schreiber as retired police detective Jonah. John Hlavin developed the series, which is based on a Swedish novel.
Liev Schreiber and Stephen Graham Lead Cast in Fairhaven
Set in the Pennsylvania woods, the plot follows the small town of Fairhaven, where a string of disappearances and grisly murders previously rocked the community three years prior before Jurek’s capture. When Landon Valentin’s 12-year-old character, Michael, stumbles emaciated and half-blind into the road, the cold case reignites. Bill Camp stars as Fairhaven’s chief of police, Ellison, who calls upon an FBI task force led by agent Quinn, played by Poorna Jagannathan. Ellison also enlists Jonah, a former Philadelphia Police Department detective who helped put Jurek away. Jurek is seen initially inducing a man to bash in his own skull through persuasion, operating as a master manipulator in the Hannibal Lecter mold whom psychiatric nurses warn others not to speak to. Ellison and Quinn barely protest when Jonah takes over as de facto leader of the case, and he focuses on clues such as the specific type of dirt found in Michael’s hair while searching for Michael’s big sister and fellow abductee, Felicia.
Lars Kepler has often spoken of their writing process for “Lazarus” and “The Sandman” having been nightmare-inducing, so the title for Roman Joffé and John Hlavin’s Apple TV adaptation couldn’t be more apt.Nocturne left my mind racing with every thrilling episode, thanks to the… pic.twitter.com/fCOzuqy1vs
Zazie Beetz Standout Performance as Undercover Agent Saga
Jonah brings in his FBI agent goddaughter, Saga, played by Zazie Beetz, who insists on acting as an insider by getting admitted to Riverside Psychiatric as a schizophrenic patient. Tim Van Patten directs the first two episodes of the series, which also features Rory Culkin, Gary Carr, Chrissy Metz, and Lily Rabe in flashbacks as Jonah’s dead wife. Critics noted that while Schreiber is reliable as the grizzled hero cop burdened by a dead child, wife, and partner, and Graham delivers soft-spoken calculation as Jurek, Beetz provides the most compelling element through her dimensional performance.
