Apple TV’s 6-Part Psychological Thriller Turns Adolescence’s Casting Reverse Into Chilling Crime

A Different Kind Of Mystery

Netflix’s Adolescence became a major success in 2025 with a grim story about 13-year-old Jamie Miller, arrested for stabbing a classmate. The series reveals early that Jamie committed the killing, then shifts attention from who did it to why.

Rather than relying on a detective to solve the case, the drama examines Jamie’s family, home life and school environment. Director Philip Barantini’s approach explores how a murderer is made.

Nocturne’s Troubling New Murders

Apple TV’s Nocturne takes a different route. Based on The Sandman, a book in Lars Kepler’s Joona Linna series, the crime drama was directed by Rowan Joffé, who also directed Before I Go To Sleep.

Liev Schreiber plays Jonah Lynn, a former homicide detective haunted by Walter, played by Graham. Walter is held at Riverside Psychiatric Hospital, but Lynn discovers new killings in his Pennsylvania hometown that resemble Walter’s crimes.

Graham Returns To Villainy

Nocturne features Rory Culkin, Chrissy Metz, Zazie Beetz, Poorna Jagannathan and Bill Camp, but Graham’s Walter is presented as its central draw. The role is described as one of his most frightening performances.

In Adolescence, Graham played a kind, ordinary suburban father, a contrast to the troubled or menacing characters he has often portrayed. His work in Boiling Point, This Is England, Good Boy and Bodies reflects that range.

Graham won one of Adolescence’s nine Emmys at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Nocturne now returns him to onscreen villainy, reversing the audience’s recent impression of him as a caring father.