Apple TV+'s 'Nocturne' Reviewed: A Prestige Crime Drama That Falters

Apple TV+'s new crime drama, Nocturne, premiering Oct. 30 with two episodes, presents a familiar landscape of prestige television: a movie star, Liev Schreiber, plays a brilliant but tormented detective obsessed with a case, while an actor on a hot streak, Stephen Graham, portrays a singular alleged serial killer. Adapted from Scandinavian mystery novels, the series delves into a complex investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies, victims, and bystanders, with children's lives hanging in the balance.

The show adopts the slow-burn format, a style popularized by series like AMC's The Killing and further cemented by acclaimed shows such as True Detective, Mare of Easttown, and Fargo. This approach, characterized by a complex investigation unfolding over an extended period, became a staple of streaming services, offering a cinematic alternative to traditional procedurals. However, Nocturne's execution reveals the potential pitfalls of this format when the underlying narrative and character development do not match the deliberate pacing.

In a departure from typical genre conventions, the identity of the killer, Jurek Walter (Graham), appears clear from the outset. Confined to a psychiatric hospital, Walter manipulates an inmate into suicide. The investigation reignites when Michael, a boy presumed to be one of Walter's victims, is found alive years after his disappearance with his sister. Schreiber's character, Jonah Lynn, a retired detective instrumental in the original investigation, is drawn back into the case, aided by FBI agent Saga (Zazie Beetz), who is like a daughter to him. While colleagues Quinn (Poorna Jagannathan) and Chief Bill Camp lead the official search, Saga goes undercover as a patient at the hospital, and Jonah operates outside protocol, determined to catch Walter and prove his culpability.

The series, created by Rowan Joffé and adapted from Lars Kepler's novels, features standout performances that momentarily elevate the material. Beetz imbues Saga with a sharp mix of acting prowess and detective instinct, while Graham's portrayal of Jurek Walter is notable for his calculated performances of compassion, making the villain a more complex figure than the standard thriller antagonist. Rory Culkin also contributes tension as Karl, a hospital worker susceptible to Jurek's manipulation.

However, the narrative struggles outside the central psychiatric hospital setting. Supporting characters, including those played by veteran actors like Bill Camp, Poorna Jagannathan, and Chrissy Metz, are underdeveloped. Jonah's character, a brooding, rule-bending detective, adheres too closely to genre clichés. The show's setting in small-town Pennsylvania invites comparisons to Mare of Easttown, but Nocturne lacks the detailed depiction of the region and its inhabitants that characterized that series. The deliberate withholding of essential backstory, particularly concerning Jonah, feels contrived and distances the audience from the show's underlying themes about justice, law, and personal crusades. The series' reliance on familiar slow-burn tropes without sufficient character depth or narrative innovation results in a compelling mystery that ultimately fails to sustain its own deliberate pace.