Nocturne, Apple TV's Lars Kepler adaptation, gets mixed reviews ahead of 30 October launch
Reviews of Apple TV's crime thriller Nocturne, starring Liev Schreiber, Zazie Beetz and Stephen Graham, range from dismissive to warm. All three praise Graham's villain and criticise the writing or production.
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The story, neutrally told
Centre · 2Apple TV's crime thriller Nocturne, created by Rowan Joffé, premieres on 30 October, with early reviews from Radio Times, Collider and Screen Rant. Radio TimesN “Nocturne arrives on 30 October on Apple TV.” Read at Radio Times ↗ ColliderN “Nocturne premieres October 30 on Apple TV.” Read at Collider ↗ Centre · 2The series adapts Lars Kepler's novel The Sandman, the fourth book in the Joona Linna series, and moves it from Stockholm to rural Pennsylvania. Screen Rant says it also draws on the 2018 book Lazarus. ColliderN “Putting a spin on the fourth entry in Kepler's bestselling Joona Linna series, Nocturne moves the story of The Sandman from Stockholm, Sweden, to Western Pennsylvania” Read at Collider ↗ Screen RantN “Apple TV blends the 2012 novel The Sandman and the 2018 book Lazarus” Read at Screen Rant ↗ Centre · 2The plot begins when a boy who vanished three years earlier reappears, but his sister does not. This brings retired missing-persons detective Jonah Lynn (Liev Schreiber) back into the case. The serial killer Jurek (also spelled Yurek) Walter (Stephen Graham) is held in a maximum-security psychiatric unit, and Jonah suspects crimes are continuing through an accomplice. Radio TimesN “When the boy suddenly turns up alive, but the girl doesn’t, it prompts Jonah (Liev Schreiber), the best goddamn missing-persons hunter statewide, to return from an exile” Read at Radio Times ↗ ColliderN “leading Jonah to suspect there is still an accomplice at large” Read at Collider ↗
Centre · 2FBI agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz) goes undercover at Walter's facility. The cast also includes Rory Culkin, Bill Camp, Chrissy Metz and Poorna Jagannathan. ColliderN “FBI agent Saga Bauer (Beetz), goes deep undercover at Walter's facility” Read at Collider ↗ Screen RantN “Poorna Jagannathan shines as Agent Alexandra Quinn” Read at Screen Rant ↗ Centre · 2All three reviewers compare Walter to Hannibal Lecter and single out Graham's performance. Radio Times says Graham "does all he can" with the material, though it calls the writing of the character thin. Screen Rant says the villain would "make Hannibal Lecter proud". Radio TimesN “Stephen Graham is the main attraction and, with what he is given, he does all he can.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Screen RantN “Graham’s Yurek Walter would make Hannibal Lecter proud.” Read at Screen Rant ↗ Centre · 1Radio Times (Jack Seale) is the harshest. It calls the show a "sub-par" thriller with "overcooked" darkness, a pained soundtrack and colliding plotlines, and says it takes too long to come together. Radio TimesN “Multiple characters, timelines and plotlines awkwardly collide in this sub-par Apple TV thriller”“all that takes much too long to gel, because Nocturne is busy huffing its own spooky fumes” Read at Radio Times ↗
Centre · 1Collider (Charlie Ridgely), who saw seven of the ten episodes, calls it "a solid crime thriller that could've been even better". It faults the over-produced, glossy look and stilted dialogue, but says the cast improves as the season goes on and singles out Bill Camp as the standout. ColliderN “so much of the series feels wildly over-produced”“Bill Camp shines the brightest here, stealing each and every scene he's in.” Read at Collider ↗ Centre · 1Screen Rant (Dani Kessel Odom) is the most positive, calling it a "standout" thriller. It nonetheless cites predictable twists, strained believability and underused supporting characters, and says the villain and performances outweigh these. Apple has withheld the last three episodes from critics. Screen RantN “Nocturne’s well-written villain and superb performances more than make up for the narrative predictability”“Apple TV hasn’t given press access to the last three episodes to preserve the surprises.” Read at Screen Rant ↗ Centre · 2The reviewers disagree on the supporting cast. Collider praises Camp, while Screen Rant finds his Chief Ellison an "afterthought", and Radio Times says Culkin plays the nurse with "too much tremulous hauntedness". Screen RantN “Chief Ellison feels more like a plot device than a character” Read at Screen Rant ↗ Radio TimesN “played by Rory Culkin with too much tremulous hauntedness” Read at Radio Times ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre3 outlets
- Framing
- All three outlets are centre-labelled entertainment reviews. They treat Nocturne as a Hannibal Lecter and True Detective-style crime thriller, and their verdicts run from dismissive (Radio Times) through qualified (Collider) to warm (Screen Rant).
- Emphasis
- Graham's villain, the ensemble cast, and flaws in writing and plotting or an over-polished production. Collider and Radio Times compare it to True Detective.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Radio Times does not mention the Kepler source novels. Collider and Screen Rant do not discuss the reservations of the harsher reviewer. Screen Rant and Collider note the episodes withheld from critics, but Radio Times does not.
- Charged language
- “sub-par”“overcooked”“wildly over-produced”“chilling & addictive”
- For example
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“Multiple characters, timelines and plotlines awkwardly collide in this sub-par Apple TV thriller” — Radio Times
“A solid crime thriller that could've been even better.” — Collider
“Nocturne’s well-written villain and superb performances more than make up for the narrative predictability” — Screen Rant
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Nocturne premieres on Apple TV on 30 October.
- Stephen Graham plays the imprisoned serial killer Jurek (Yurek) Walter, and Liev Schreiber plays Jonah Lynn.
- Reviewers compare the villain to Hannibal Lecter and praise Graham's performance.
- All three reviewers criticise aspects of the writing, plotting or production.
Where accounts differ
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Overall quality
- Centre
- Radio Times calls it sub-par and overcooked. Collider calls it solid but over-produced. Screen Rant calls it a chilling, addictive standout despite flaws.
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Bill Camp's role as the sheriff or chief
- Centre
- Collider says Camp steals every scene. Screen Rant calls his Chief Ellison an afterthought and a plot device.
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Nocturne's villain Jurek Walter is a Hannibal Lecter-style killer in a psychiatric unit.
Supported- Supports 2
- Radio Times, Screen Rant
- Reports 1
- Collider
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Nocturne's writing, plotting or production is flawed, with too much going on at once.
Supported- Supports 3
- Collider, Radio Times, Screen Rant
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Nocturne premieres on Apple TV on 30 October.
Reported- Reports 3
- Collider, Radio Times, Screen Rant
UK and Ireland1 outlet
Radio Times reviews it sceptically, as another Lecter imitation with overwrought darkness.
“Television is still having nightmares about Hannibal Lecter.” — Radio Times
Radio Times
North America2 outlets
Collider and Screen Rant are more favourable, stressing the cast and the story's drive while noting production or writing flaws.
“it sets a significantly higher bar than many of its genre contemporaries on rival streamers” — Collider
“the story still feels pulse-racing even when it's obvious what's coming” — Screen Rant
Collider, Screen Rant
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre4 articles
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Radio TimesN · · Opinion
Nocturne review: Stephen Graham does what he can with this overcooked drama
Critical Argues that a strong Graham performance is wasted in a muddled, overwrought drama that cannot match Hannibal Lecter.
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ColliderN · · Opinion
Apple TV's 'Nocturne' Is a Solid Crime Thriller That Could've Been Even Better | Review
Mixed Calls it a solid, well-cast thriller held back by glossy over-production and stilted dialogue, and improving from the halfway point.
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Screen RantN · · Opinion
Sympathetic Praises the villain and performances as a standout Nordic-noir adaptation while noting predictability and plausibility problems.
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Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 27 Oct 13:00 First Radio TimesN Nocturne review: Stephen Graham does what he can with this overcooked drama Opinion
- 27 Oct 13:01 +1m ColliderN Apple TV's 'Nocturne' Is a Solid Crime Thriller That Could've Been Even Better | Review Opinion
- 27 Oct 13:01 +1m Screen RantN Nocturne: Liev Schreiber Races Against Time In A Chilling & Addictive Serial Killer Thriller | Review Opinion
- 27 Oct 14:00 +1h Radio TimesN Stephen Graham reveals why Nocturne role gave a chance to portray someone he would "never play"
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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