Review: Apple TV’s ‘Nocturne’ Delivers Gripping Nordic Noir With Compelling Female Leads

Pennsylvania has been an ideal setting for American interpretations of Nordic Noir, like Mare of Easttown and Task. Nocturne earnestly attempts to pull off that intense mix of slow-paced, character-driven storylines with flawed protagonists in lived-in settings, but even with the stellar cast, the series somehow feels hollow.

Based on two international best-selling novels, The Sandman and Lazarus, by Lars Kepler, the ten-episode series follows ex-soldier turned homicide detective Jonah Lynn (Liev Schreiber, X-Men Wolverine), who moves his family to a small town in Western Pennsylvania. Jonah intends to get away from Philadelphia for a calmer life, but ends up placing his family right smack dab in the middle of the hunt for a chillingly brutal serial killer, Jurek Walter (Stephen Graham, Adolescence). The case takes over Jonah’s life, and when the desperate search for Jurek’s most recent victim intensifies, Jonah is compelled to place his beloved goddaughter, FBI agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz, Atlanta), undercover in direct contact with the serial killer to try to save lives. Nocturne positions itself to be this compelling Silence of the Lambs kind of suspenseful serial killer crime drama.  As Jurek Walter, Stephen Graham chooses an intense level of emotional stillness to perform as a psychopath.

I understand his interpretation of this killer and his approach to playing Jurek feels like an actor playing his version of Hannibal Lecter without the sense of humor and cannibalism. The script positions Jurek as a master manipulator who is doubly dangerous because he can manipulate the minds of the people around him. The cold open of the pilot episode reflects this skill, but the scene was clearly predictable when it should have been the hook that surprises the audience and draws us in. Graham is a fantastic actor, but I wish director Tim Van Patten had guided this actor into infusing this character with more nuance and texture. If you play a serial killer like a serial killer, it’s not really interesting for the audience to watch because nothing is earned. We have absolutely no reason to feel anything but fear from Jurek Walter because he’s playing evil. Evil isn’t an action that an actor can play with intention behind it, so Jurek always feels slightly off in all the wrong ways. The script doesn’t knock your socks off, but it gets the job done. 

When Detective Jonah Lynn is introduced, he’s a brilliant detective frustrated because the serial killer has run circles around him.  The toll that’s taken on Jonah is apparent. from the moment you see his physicality before he says a word. Liev Schreiber is another actor who is just magnificent, yet his embodiment of Jonah feels slightly off.  We immediately see the emotional burden he’s carrying, but we don’t get time to see who this person is and connect with him. I guess since he’s a well-known actor, the audience is supposed to see him and think, okay, he’s a good guy going through a bad time, and he’s the hero.

The premise of Nocturne is fascinating, especially for those of us mesmerized by true-crime series. The series gets even more interesting when Jonah’s goddaughter, Saga, is introduced. Zazie Beetz embodies this undercover FBI agent with ease, and her introduction to the story is done in ways that let the audience know who she is, what the stakes are for her, what she’s dealing with, and how she shows up in the world. The layers Beetz takes on while embodying Saga make sense and adds texture to the story while raising the stakes.  Every time Saga is on screen, she uplifts the story and makes you want to invest in this show. You care about what happens to her, especially when Jonah allows her to go into this dangerous situation. Instead of the local police department taking this case on alone, they reach out to the FBI, and they send Agent Quinn (Poorna Jagannathan, Lanterns) to head up the investigation.

As soon as Quinn is on screen with Jonah working the case, the series finally hooks the audience into the mystery. Jagannathan’s embodiment of Quinn feels effortlessly grounded and authentic. She’s not some cliché of an FBI agent who comes in with ego to solve the case her way, and I really liked the working relationship that develops between Jonah and Quinn, grounded in mutual respect for their skills as detectives. At the end of the day, Zazie Beetz and Poorna Jagannathan make Nocturne worth watching. Ida (Chrissy Metz, This Is Us), the parent of two of the missing children, is given more texture in this series than the usual mother of the victim.

As she advocates for her children, she carries the weight of being a single mom. The system is in the process of failing her, but she is determined to push the sheriff’s office and the FBI to find her children. Metz is heartfelt as Ida. I especially appreciated the scenes between Ida and Agent Quinn as they both experience this case as mothers. Even though Ida believes that because Quinn is a mother she will fight harder on this case is something a parent would say to another parent, it always gets up my nose a little bit when female characters ask other female characters in shows like this if they are mothers. It’s interesting; without the risks that Saga, the single, child-free woman, takes with her life, the investigation wouldn’t be moving forward. This dynamic was an example of when the show was grounded in reality and was one of the more layered aspects of Nocturne that kept me engaged.

Nocturne depends way too much on the audience accepting that Jurek, the big bad guy, is super intelligent, all-powerful, and the people in the systems around him, particularly the one run by a Black woman, are too easy to fool. What Jurek gets away with makes the people managing his situation look like complete idiots. In this world, Jurek, the brilliant psychopathic white male serial killer’s only true equal is Jonah, the brilliant white homicide detective with a score to settle. Yet, with all of its flaws, if you love this kind of dark crime drama and want to watch something other than true crime shows, Nocturne is a solid series. Once the story starts cooking, it’s easy to want to figure out who is doing what and how they are gonna catch them. By the end of episode two, the storylines finally hook you. I was invested in the story through Saga and Quinn. Making Jonah Saga’s godfather gives their relationship history and weight, raising the stakes when Jonah and Saga discuss putting her in direct proximity to this serial killer. Costumes, set design, makeup, and hair all feel like Nordic Noir American style. I absolutely love detective shows where the female detectives look like real women. The serial killer aspect is really dark, but if you love a mystery this time of year, you might enjoy Nocturne’s investigative journey.

Nocturne premieres on Apple TV globally Friday October 30, 2026. 

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