Apple TV’s Newest Serial Killer Thriller Officially Rewrites the Genre

Published Sep 11, 2026, 7:38 PM EDT Chelsea Adelaine Hassler is an award-winning editorial, social, and creative director with two decades of media and entertainment experience and an all-consuming obsession with TV. A native New Yorker, she always completes the Sunday crossword, reads at least 100 books per year, and has Knicks season tickets. Stephen Graham is a force of nature. An exceptionally versatile character actor, his fierce emotional intensity and authentic vulnerability let him move effortlessly between calculated restraint and explosive volatility, and make even the quietest moments feel charged. But in the upcoming Apple TV crime thriller Nocturne, he's set to take on an entirely different kind of role than we've seen before, portraying a "diabolically cunning" serial killer, and it could prove to be his most jaw-dropping performance yet. In an interview with Perri Nemiroff for an upcoming episode of Ladies Night, Nocturne co-star Poorna Jagannathan said the show "makes Silence of the Lambs feel like a documentary on Florence Nightingale," adding she previously read one of the two Lars Kepler novels the series is based on and "hadn't been that frightened since I was a child." That's part of why she joined the project, she says, noting, "I wanted to be part of this particular world, and I am a massive fan of Stephen Graham." Jagannathan says the Graham she encountered on set went beyond her "wildest dreams," describing his performance as "deeply meditative" and "a transformation" of the serial killer archetype. Stephen Graham Is Best Known for a Wide Range of Transformative Roles Image via Netflix Based on the interview with Jagannathan, it seems like Graham has once again done the thing he does best: committing physically and emotionally to completely inhabiting the world of an incredibly complex role. Dating back to his early breakthrough performance as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in This is England, where he set aside his personal morals to immerse himself in the deeply troubled, hate-filled antagonist, his ability to transform himself into someone immersed in darkness yet lace his performance with vulnerability and charisma is, quite frankly, unmatched. It's what made him so beloved in his portrayal of undercover detective John Corbett in Line of Duty, the fierce appeal he brought to a role heavily laden with personal trauma and terrifying unpredictability, and so successful as flawed head chef Andy Jones in the outrageously stressful Boiling Point. The range of roles Graham played over the course of his career, from the absolutely ruthless Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire to the absolutely heartbreaking Eddie Miller in Adolescence to the absolutely conflicted Eric McNally in Time, makes him a rare kind of talent; the ability to transform himself into such disparate characters a skill few others truly possess. But many of his most stunning performances have taken place in high-intensity situations, facing pressure being imposed by society, the parameters of a crime, or an imminent threat. So, while Nocturne will see Graham take on a serial killer character for the first time, it'll also be a massive opportunity to demonstrate his prowess at being the one exerting the force from outside the pressure cooker. If anyone can reinvent the serial killer, it's Graham – and watching him play a calculated, incarcerated puppet master in a crime thriller is more or less guaranteed to be one hell of a ride. 'Nocturne' Brings a Serial Killer Thriller to Apple TV This October Image via Apple TV Nocturne follows soldier-turned-homicide detective Jonah Lynn (Liev Schreiber) who, tired of working the beat in Philadelphia, moves to a small town in Western Pennsylvania in the hopes of settling down in a quieter life. But when the town and his family come under attack from sinister serial killer Jurek Walker (Graham), he's quickly caught in the middle of a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse with his family in the crosshairs. When a victim long believed to be dead turns up alive, Lynn finds himself in a race against time to find the one victim still missing, while his protégé and surrogate daughter, FBI Agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz), goes undercover in hopes of outsmarting the notorious killer and getting answers straight from the source. While much about the show is being kept strictly under wraps, the 10-episode Apple TV limited series is slated to premiere on October 30 with a two-episode drop and weekly thereafter. Based on the best-selling novels Lazarus and The Sandman by Lars Kepler, the pen name of husband-and-wife duo Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril, who both serve as executive producers, Nocturne was created for television by Rowan Joffé, with John Hlavin as showrunner. In addition to Graham, Shreiber, Beetz, and Jagannathan, the show's ensemble cast includes Bill Camp, Rory Culkin, Chrissy Metz, and Gary Carr. Nocturne Release Date October 30, 2026 Showrunner John Hlavin Writers John Hlavin, Rowan Joffe