'Nocturne' Review: Apple’s Answer to 'The Silence of the Lambs' Is a Massive Failure

Published Oct 27, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT Not even Stephen Graham and Zazie Beetz can save this tedious adaptation Nocturne’s star-studded cast can’t save Apple TV’s misfired adaptation Image: Apple TV Lars Kepler’s internationally bestselling crime novel The Sandman wowed critics when it debuted in 2012. The New York Times called it a “grisly” Scandinavian noir, likening its terrifying serial-killer villain, Jurek Walter, to the deliciously diabolical Hannibal Lecter. To readers who have read the book, the parallels are obvious: both are incarcerated serial killers whose psychological hold over others makes their presence in the story feel claustrophobic and chilling. What adds to the chill is the city of Stockholm, Sweden. In another genre, Kepler’s description of the city would have been picturesque and romantic. In the wake of Walter’s crimes, there is only despair. The Sandman is one of the most thrilling crime novels I’ve ever read. That makes it even more disappointing to say that, after watching the first seven episodes of co-showrunners John Hlavin and Rowan Joffé’s middling Apple TV adaptation, Nocturne, I couldn’t help feeling that the showrunners and Apple fundamentally misunderstood what made the novel so brilliant in the first place. What is Nocturne about? Image: Apple Nocturne follows Jonah Lynn (Liev Schreiber), a retired homicide detective who moved to Pennsylvania for a quiet life after losing his wife and child. But retirement doesn’t last long: Michael Frost (Landon Valentin), a young boy presumed dead, suddenly reappears, throwing the Fairhaven police into chaos. Alongside his surrogate daughter, FBI agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz), Jonah sets out to discover what happened to Michael — and whether Michael's missing sister, Felicia (Abigail Dognahy), is still alive. Meanwhile, Jurek Walter (Stephen Graham) terrorizes staff and patients alike in the Restricted Housing Unit at Riverside. As in the novel, Jurek’s influence stems not from the threat of violence typical of inmates in the prison's most restricted area, but from his hypnotic way of speaking to people. In our very first scene with Walter, it’s quickly established that even his silence carries weight. Nocturne’s cast is phenomenal — and entirely wasted As in the novel, Hlavin and Joffé spend a good amount of time in the first two episodes setting up questions about Jonah, Saga, and Jurek to whet the audience’s appetite. Schreiber’s performance as Jonah is quiet but intense, much like his portrayal of the brooding fixer, Ray Donovan. As in many crime procedurals, the gruff ex-cop is a familiar genre fixture, so Schreiber’s commanding presence and performance feel expected. Unfortunately, Schreiber doesn’t do enough with the role to make Jonah feel particularly inspiring or exciting, which makes Jonah's role as the main protagonist, and arguably the heart of the show, feel one-note at best. Image: Apple Beetz and Graham, however, are captivating from beginning to end, each perfectly capturing the qualities that made their novel counterparts so compelling from the first few pages. Beetz introduces Saga and leads the audience to believe they know everything they need to know about her, then flips that expectation on its head. In many ways, Beetz's performance recalls Clarice Starling's introduction in The Silence of the Lambs: both are wily, resourceful young women willing to cut corners to solve the case, but they refuse to sell their souls to the devil in the process. In Nocturne, the devil is, of course, Jurek. Much like Mads Mikkelsen reimagined Hannibal Lecter as a sophisticated, highly intelligent cannibal serial killer rather than a lunatic, Graham does the same with Jurek, making him feel like Hannibal the Cannibal’s twin. Jurek is smaller and more muscular to fit Graham’s frame, but in retrospect, neither detail matters — Jurek’s presence, felt even when he is absent, is what counts. Graham more than delivers. With every tilt of his head or high-pitched chuckle, you’re left feeling as though someone just walked over your grave. Still, as compelling as these performances are, they can’t quite overcome Nocturne’s biggest flaw: the age-old failure to “show, don’t tell.” Nocturne misunderstands The Sandman’s biggest appeal In The Silence of the Lambs, the tension lies in the relationship between serial killer Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, as well as the ongoing effort to track down and stop the killer, Buffalo Bill. Both threads work because we see how Lecter’s influence affects not just Clarice, but the whole FBI department and the friends/family members of his victims. Image: Apple The same goes for The Sandman. For all that it follows Jonah, Saga, and Jurek, Kepler’s interest never wavers from depicting the impact of Jurek’s crimes on everyone — notably the victims’ families, as well as the people of Stockholm. For the first few episodes, Nocturne seems laser-focused on Jurek’s impact, especially in its heartfelt depiction of the Frost family. But halfway through, Hlavin and Joffé pivot to Jonah’s pain and losses, which makes sense for the protagonist. In doing so, though, they push characters like Saga and Quinn (Poorna Jagannathan) — an FBI agent who serves as the perfect foil to Jonah’s eye-roll-worthy “bad cop” — to the wayside. Even worse, while we see how Jurek affected Jonah, we’re only told that the people of Fairhaven are “recovering” from his influence. Though this doesn’t necessarily detract from the main story, it feels like the antithesis of what The Sandman is about: the aftermath of Jurek’s crimes and their impact not just on individuals, but on an entire city. Seven episodes in, Nocturne’s tremendous potential is clear, and we’d be lying if we said we weren’t invested in whether Hlavin and Joffé can stick the landing and deliver the same gut-punch climax as Kepler. Right now, we’re not optimistic. Instead of leaning into the myth of Jurek and the iron grip his influence has on Fairhaven’s people, Nocturne is more likely to focus on all the wrong things, turning this psychological crime thriller into the predictable cop-heavy drama we’ve seen a thousand times before. Nocturne’s first two episodes will premiere globally on Apple TV on Friday, Oct. 30, followed by one new episode every Friday through December 25, 2026.