Stephen Graham Holds Apple TV’s ‘Nocturne’ — SkimNews
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- Nocturne adapts Lars Kepler’s novels "Lazarus" and "The Sandman" as a 10-episode series created by Rowan Joffé; the review covers seven episodes screened for critics.
- Stephen Graham plays Jurek Walter, a sadistic manipulator who coerces a neighboring inmate to kill himself and then targets nurse Karl; the review credits Graham with holding the series together.
- Bill Camp plays Dave Ellison, the Fairhaven police chief who contacts the FBI after Michael Frost is found following a three-year disappearance with Felicia; investigators had suspected both children were Jurek’s victims.
- Jonah Lynn rejoins a task force led by Alexandra Quinn, with undercover specialist Saga Bauer and detective Nathan, to find Felicia and the person assisting Jurek.
- Episode 3, "Eyes on the Inside" opens with a family on the run and ends with a troubling FBI call; the review singles it out as especially disturbing because its panic and fear extend beyond the characters to viewers at home.
- Riverside Psychiatric Hospital is portrayed as poorly run and overwhelmed, with patients facing abuse; the review says this adds realism even as other scenes require viewers to suspend disbelief.
- Apple TV debuts the first two episodes on Oct. 30, with the remaining installments airing weekly on Fridays.
Why it matters: For Apple TV, the Oct. 30 debut offers a 10-episode crime thriller that the review says improves episode by episode, with Graham’s performance explicitly credited with holding it together. Its weaker point is narrative plausibility: multiple scenes require suspended disbelief even as the psychiatric-institution realism adds substance.
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