Apple TV is overflowing with unique, incredibly compelling original series, like the latest addition to the streaming service’s impressive library, Nocturne, a spine-chilling serial killer thriller starring the great Stephen Graham.
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TV → overflow → Graham
Based on The Sandman and Lazarus, two books from the 10-book “Joona Linna” series by Lars Kepler (husband and wife co-authors Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril), the psychological crime thriller unearths an infamous investigation into serial killer Jurek Walter (Graham) that spirals into an unsettling, suspenseful slow burn.
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that → base → burn
Created for television by Rowan Joffé, co-showrunner alongside John Hlavin, Nocturne also features a stacked cast of heavy hitters, including Liev Schreiber, Zazie Beetz, Rory Culkin, Poorna Jagannathan, Bill Camp, and more.
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Nocturne → create → Schreiber
In celebration of Nocturne’s premiere, Decider assembled a handy cast guide to help you get to know some of the key characters and cast members in the new serial killer thriller.
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you → assemble → thriller
Liev Schreiber as Jonah Lynn
Jonah Lynn is a soldier-turned-homicide detective who retired shortly after serial killer Jurek Walter was sentenced.
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Walter → turn → Lynn
After tragedy struck his family, Jonah took a step back from the career and moved away from Fairhaven, but when Michael Frost (Landon Valentin) — one of the siblings presumably taken by Jurek — resurfaced three years later, Jonah
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Frost → strike → Jurek
returned to the case that broke him in hopes of finding Michael’s sister Felicia.
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that → return → sister
As noted in Decider’s Nocturne review, “Jonah, immune to Jurek’s deceptive ways, is tormented by grief, regret, and his complex history with the case.
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Jonah → note → case
Despite his gruff voice and hardened exterior, Nocturne’s leading man wears his past on his sleeve, and a perpetually pained expression that suggests he’s seconds away from sobbing at any given moment.
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he → wear → moment
Jonah is played by Liev Schreiber, an Emmy Award nominee and Golden Globe nominee who also serves as an EP on the series.
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who → play → series
With more than 100 film and TV credits on IMDb, Schreiber has starred in Ray Donovan, Caught Stealing, The Perfect Couple, A Small Light, Across The River And Into The Trees, Asteroid City, Golda, Spotlight, The French Dispatch, Isle of Dogs, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, Wes Craven’s Scream trilogy, The Manchurian Candidate, The Daytrippers, and many more.
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Schreiber → star → Spiderverse
Plus, the New York Times called Schreiber “the finest American theater actor of his generation,” so his talents are known both on stage and on screen.
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talents → call → screen
You can follow Graham on Instagram at @lievschreiber to learn more.
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You → follow → more
, so in order to gain intel, Jonah reluctantly sends Saga undercover.
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Jonah → gain → Saga
Saga is played by Zazie Beetz, who serves as an EP on the series with Schreiber.
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who → play → Schreiber
As noted in Decider’s Nocturne review, “Saga’s bold, badass undercover turn challenges Beetz to craft two characters, ride two wildly different emotional rollercoasters, and perform mental gymnastics to separate their intertwined stories and traumas.
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turn → note → stories
Beetz runs the gamut of emotions, showing fierce physicality and a thirst for revenge.”
If Beetz looks familiar, you may recognize her from nearly 50 film and TV credits on IMDb, including Atlanta, Joker, The Dutchman, Black Mirror, Bullet Train, Nine Days, The Harder They Fall, and more.
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They → run → Atlanta
You can follow Graham on Instagram at @zaziebeetz to learn more.
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You → follow → more
Suspected of taking more than a half dozen lives and kidnapping two young siblings, Jurek was locked up for life in the Restricted Housing Unit at Riverside Psychiatric Hospital, but the spotlight turns on him again when Michael Frost, one of the siblings presumably taken by Jurek, resurfaces three years later.
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Frost → suspect → Jurek
Jurek is played by Emmy, Golden Globe, and Actor award-winner Stephen Graham.
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Jurek → play → Graham
As noted in Decider’s Nocturne review, “Just over a year after Graham won three Emmy awards for writing, executive producing, and starring in Adolescence as the guilt-ridden father of a 13-year-old boy accused of murder, he reminds us of his remarkable range by making the haunting transformation into a sociopathic serial killer who subverts expectations.
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who → note → expectations
Despite Jurek’s brawny physique, he doesn’t rely on physical strength to subdue others.
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he → rely → others
By pinpointing and preying upon personal weaknesses, the manipulative master of psychological warfare sneakily wraps people around his fingertips.”
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master → pinpoint → fingertips
With more than 140 TV and film credits on IMDb, you may also recognize Graham from performances in Boardwalk Empire, Boiling Point, The Peaky Blinders, A Thousand Blows, Heel, Accused, Line of Duty, Public Enemies, and more.
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you → recognize → Duty
Per Nocturne’s production notes, Graham was also “appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Years Honours List for his services to Drama.”
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Graham → appoint → Drama
You can follow Graham on Instagram at @stephengraham1973 to learn more.
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You → follow → more
As noted in Decider’s Nocturne review, Karl Anders is caring nurse whose desire for a raise to help support his mother and younger brother on disability get him “promoted” to the basement, where Jurek swiftly assesses his needs and makes him feel like he matters.
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he → note → needs
Karl is played by Rory Culkin, who perfectly portrays a soft, tenderhearted soul at war with himself over his proclivity to see Jurek as more man than monster.
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who → play → monster
In brief chats through a wired window and small door hatches, the two develop one of Nocturne’s most curious, compelling dynamics, with Graham and Culkin’s palpable chemistry fueling an unexpectedly intimate connection.
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chemistry → wire → connection
If Culkin looks familiar, that’s because he’s starred in more than 50 film and TV credits on IMDb, including roles in Under the Banner of Heaven, Waco, The Expecting, Castle Rock, City on a Hill, Halston, Black Mirror, Scream 4 and more.
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he → look → Hill
And yes, if you don’t know, he’s also the brother of actors Macaulay and Kieran Culkin.
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he → know → Macaulay
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Poorna Jagannathan as Agent Alexandra Quinn
Alexandra Quinn is a Special Agent for the FBI who’s called in to run the task force and lead the investigation into Felicia’s frost’s whereabouts.
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who → call → whereabouts
A mother in the midst of her own custody battle, Quinn’s credentials include a rare, refreshing warmth and parental passion that aids the investigation.
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that → include → investigation
And she nicely contrasts Jonah’s approach.
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she → contrast → approach
Quinn is played by Poorna Jagannathan who’s having one heck of a year in Deli Boys, Nobody Wants This, and Lanterns.
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Nobody → play → This
You may also recognize the Nocturne star from Never Have I Ever, or roles in Wolves, Turtles All The Way Down, The Out-Laws, The Night Of, Big Little Lies, Ramy, and more.
You can follow Jagannathan on Instagram at @poornagraphy to learn more.
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You → recognize → more
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Bill Camp as Chief Dave Ellison
Shortly after Michael Frost is found we meet Fairhaven, Pennsylvania Police Chief Dave Ellison, who worked the original case with Jonah back in the day.
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who → find → day
Chief Ellison is played by the legendary, award-nominated actor Bill Camp, who has nearly 100 film and TV credits on IMDb.
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who → play → IMDb
Apple TV fans may recognize him from Presumed Innocent, but he’s also starred in Judgement Day, Sirens, The Gilded Age, The Mastermind, Huntington, The Queen’s Gambit, 12 Years a Slave, Vice, Killing of a Sacred Deer, Molly’s Game, and more.
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he → recognize → Deer
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Gary Carr as Nathan Pollack
Also taking part in the Frost/Jurek Walter investigation is Nathan Pollack, a police officer who previously worked with Jonah, Saga, and Ellison.
If Nathan looks familiar that’s because he’s played by Gary Carr, an actor, dancer, singer, and musician with two dozen film and TV credits on IMDb, including 21 Bridges, Death in Paradise, The Deuce, Bolden, Genius, The Peripheral, Trigonometry, Downton Abbey, and more.
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he → take → Paradise
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
