Nocturne on Apple TV: Stephen Graham plays the killer, and the reviews are split

Apple TV's thriller Nocturne is drawing attention before its global debut on Friday 30 October, and the search interest centres on Stephen Graham. The series makes its debut with its first two episodes, and new episodes follow every Friday through 25 December [1]. The debut is global, so viewers in every Apple TV market get the same first two episodes on the same day.

The premise and the cast

Liev Schreiber plays a retired detective who sends an undercover agent, Zazie Beetz, into prison to get information from Graham's jailed killer [4]. The show is built on Lars Kepler's Joona Linna novels Lazarus and The Sandman, moved from Sweden to Pennsylvania [4]. Rory Culkin appears in a supporting role as Karl, a caretaker who works alongside Graham's character [6].

Culkin has described the part as a different challenge from his earlier television work, and he has said he had never done a TV show quite like this one [6]. Those comments are reported as his own view, not as a verdict on the series.

What the critics say

The reviews are mostly positive, and nearly all of them single out Graham as the main strength of the series [3] [4]. One review calls his performance haunting and says it leads the ensemble. Another critic compares his chilling expressions to Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs [4].

The most enthusiastic verdict comes from FandomWire, which gives the series 9 out of 10 and calls it one of the best shows of 2026 [5]. That is a strong endorsement, but it is one review among several, and the wider critical picture is more mixed.

Not every critic is convinced. Another calls the show reasonably effective but largely built from familiar genre elements, and it argues that the story does not offer much new [4]. Another review, from The A.V. Club, calls it a knockout thriller that is hard to stop watching [3]. Critics are divided on originality, but the performances are the point most reviews agree on.

Why it matters for the Apple TV schedule

Apple presents the show as a crime drama, and it is putting Nocturne on the platform as a weekly release through the end of the year [1]. That means viewers will follow the story over several weeks rather than binge it in one go. That pattern suits a thriller built around a cat-and-mouse game between a detective, an agent and a prisoner.

What to watch next

The first two episodes arrive on 30 October. The question for viewers is whether the series keeps its pace across the weekly episodes, and whether the prison storyline gives Liev Schreiber and Zazie Beetz as much room as Graham's character. The weekly schedule through 25 December gives the audience a clear run to judge it.