Liev Schreiber and Zazie Beetz say the scarier thing about Apple TV’s upcoming Nocturne crime series isn’t the serial killer. It’s the price those who chase the criminal pay.
In an exclusive interview with Where Is The Buzz, the two revealed that the series explores how far one will go for justice and what price they pay. The Nocturne series premieres Friday on Apple TV with the first two episodes, with new episodes released every Friday until December 25.
Based on the crime novels written by Lars Kepler, Lazarus and The Sandman, the series follows Schreiber as Jonah Lynn, a former soldier who became a homicide detective. He left his job in Philadelphia to settle down in a quiet town in Western Pennsylvania. The tranquility in this place was ruined by the actions of a cunning serial killer named Jurek Walter (Stephen Graham), who targeted the town and Jonah’s family.
Beetz plays an FBI agent, Saga Bauer, a girl like Jonah Lynn’s daughter. Jonah sends the girl into the action to find the last missing victim of this killer. The series has 10 episodes, and Schreiber and Beetz also serve as executive producers. Other actors include Bill Camp, Rory Culkin, Chrissy Metz, Poorna Jagannathan, and Gary Carr.
As a big fan of both actors for years, it was really enjoyable to watch them in the same project. While watching the screeners, I really enjoyed every single moment of the suspense these actors brought to the screen.
Jonah is driven by an animal instinct to protect his loved ones; however, his search for justice keeps putting them in danger. So I asked Schreiber how that drive turned into personal destruction for him, and whether Jonah realizes when he crosses the line.
“Wow, that’s such a good question,” Schreiber responded. “That’s like the core of the plot for my character, so well encapsulated.”
As he claims, his character is conflicted between his confidence in Saga’s skills and his love for her.
“Yeah, I think that’s what Jonah is struggling with, that fine line between, you know, I think Saga is probably the best qualified person to do what they need to do, but she’s also the person that he loves most,” Schreiber said. “And that’s inherently the conflict and the drama that makes the show work.”
The conflict grows with every new episode of the season, Schreiber notes.
“Of course there are more secrets revealed as we go, and we learn that, you know, both Saga and Jonah have more skin in this game than we know about initially,” he said. “But I think that’s a perfect encapsulation of what drives it, is what you just said.”
As for Beetz, I wanted to know about Saga’s transformation. Does she have to become an almost unrecognizable person to deal with this evil, and is the hardest part of her journey this person, or the parts of herself she has to uncover?
This question triggered an excited response from the two who replied to me with “Come on,” “Wow,” and “What the heck? These are such good questions.”
“That is pretty deep,” Beetz said. “I think from a physical sense, I suppose, I think Jurek is literally dangerous, but I do think from a psychological sense, I do think he kind of undoes what she thinks of herself, or what sort of the narrative she has around herself.”
As Beetz notes, by unraveling all the things, Saga faces pain which she has buried in her.
“So kind of there is an identity unraveling a little bit that I think can be quite destructive to someone,” Beetz said. “So I do think she is hiding her own pain from herself, and it just kind of gets more and more presented to her. And yeah, but ultimately I guess Jurek, you know, is physically dangerous.”
My last question concerns the theme of the whole series. Nocturne asks how far one will go for the sake of justice, and if it means giving away parts of our humanity to face evil, can one claim victory at all?
Schreiber replied first.
“Absolutely not, man. You are just brilliant. What the …” he continued. “Well, thank you so much. But I think those are the themes that we were talking about and we were trying to push.”
He noted that he, Beetz, and Graham built their approach according to these themes.
“And Zazie and Stephen and I, when we talked about this piece, what are the things that are really compelling to us, not just as actors but as people, and that those conflicts are absolutely present,” Schreiber said. “And I think that you’re absolutely right to say that for Jonah, has he crossed a line that puts his own humanity into question.”
He then connected it to my previous question.
“And I think that idea, you know, the question about Zazie as well, that, like, who is the monster? Is the monster Jurek, or is the monster something that’s shared within each of us that has the potential to go further maybe than we would like?” he said. “I love that interpretation of it.”
“Yeah, you’re kind of describing the show more succinctly than we have been,” Beetz noted.
“You should have called us earlier,” Schreiber teased. “I know. I got you,” I told them.
“Your notes, please,” Schreiber added.
After watching the screeners, I can’t wait for everyone to watch Nocturne and enjoy it as much as I did. The first two episodes premiere on Friday on Apple TV.
