Apple today unveiled the trailer for the limited drama series Black Bird, a gritty, suspenseful psychological thriller developed and executive produced by acclaimed, best-selling author Dennis Lehane.
The six-episode series premieres globally, with the first two episodes on Friday, July 8, 2022, on Apple TV+, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday through August 5, 2022.
Black Bird stars Taron Egerton as Jimmy Keene, Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall, Greg Kinnear as Brian Miller, Sepideh Moafi as Lauren McCauley, and the late Ray Liotta as Jimmy Keene’s father, Big Jim Keene.
The series is adapted from the true crime memoir In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption (See on Amazon) by James Keene and Hillel Levin.
Inspired by actual events, when high school football hero and decorated policeman’s son Jimmy Keene (Egerton) is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum-security prison, he is given the choice of a lifetime – enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Hauser), or stay where he is and serve his full sentence with no possibility of parole.
Keene quickly realizes his only way out is to elicit a confession and find out where the bodies of several young girls are buried before Hall’s appeal goes through.
But is this suspected killer telling the truth? Or is it just another tale from a serial liar?
This dramatic and captivating story subverts the crime genre by enlisting the help of the very people put behind bars to solve its mysteries.
Black Bird was developed, written, and executive-produced by Lehane. The first three episodes are directed by Academy Award nominee Michaël R. Roskam, who also serves as executive producer.
Lehane, Egerton, and Roskam executive produce alongside Richard Plepler through his EDEN Productions and Bradley Thomas, Dan Friedkin, and Ryan Friedkin through Imperative Entertainment.
The executive producers also include Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert through EMJAG Productions, Kary Antholis, and the book’s author, James Keene. Jim McKay and Joe Chappelle also direct.
The limited series is produced for Apple TV+ by Apple Studios.
Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL, and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $4.99 per month with a seven-day free trial.
For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.