![Apple TV+ show Black Bird](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UreyTRszQWwtq7KtCbYRaN-415-80.jpg)
Apple TV+'s latest show couldn't have come at a better time for me: COVID's finally got me, and I'm going through episodes of For All Mankind faster than I'm popping paracetamol. So this week's launch of what is shaping up to be my new obsession, Black Bird, is brilliantly timed.
Right now Black Bird has a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, too, so the early signs point to an Apple TV+ show not to miss. It also seems to be yet another sign that Apple's streaming service really is delivering quality over quantity.
Adapted for the screen by crime legend Dennis Lehane (whose film and TV work includes Mystic River, The Wire, Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island and many, many more) and featuring Ray Liotta's final TV performance, Black Bird looks like an edge-of-the-seat thriller in a similar vein to the sadly canned Manhunter. But this time the good guy is a bad guy. Or is he?
Black Bird on Apple TV+: what's it about?
Based on a true story, Black Bird is about convicted drug dealer Jimmy Keene. Keene is given an offer he can't refuse: if he can get suspected serial killer Larry Hall to confess and tell him where the bodies are buried, he's a free man. "The thing I locked in on was the sense of being dropped into a type of hell and having to navigate without a map," Dennis Lehane says. It's much more nuanced than black and white, good and evil: "I don't think too many people are just straight-out evil," Lehane explains.
Reviews so far have been very positive. Collider says that "in the sea of true-crime series that have hit streaming services so far in 2022, Black Bird is a different kind of animal. And boy, can this bird fly," while Showbiz Junkies says that "Lehane takes James Keene’s memoir and finesses it into compelling television. Each episode is well-scripted, incredibly well-acted, and absolutely riveting." Over at Indiewire, Ben Travers says: "Black Bird is a stealthy piece of storytelling -- at first appearing like a simple crow, nested comfortably on the power line next to a dozen others like it, before spreading its wings and revealing a plumage streaked with shades of gray."
This sounds very much like my kind of thing, so I'll be stocking up on Lucozade to binge it over the weekend. Black Bird launches on Apple TV+ on Friday 8th July.
Upgrade to smarter living
Get the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products straight to your inbox.
Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).
-
What are gorilla rows: the underrated strength exercise you’re not doing for a stronger back
It will also give your core a run for its money
By Bryony Firth-Bernard Published
-
iPhone 17 slated for one massive camera upgrade which photographers will love
The question is, will it be too technical for non-photographers?
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Amazon Prime Video's next big sci-fi spy thriller gets action-packed teaser
Citadel: Diana looks like sleek fun
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
A Disney+ show just received the most Emmy nominations ever – watch it now
The Bear's stressful second season has been a hit with the Emmys
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Netflix's new no.1 brings two Oscar-winners back together – and fans love it
Ticket to Paradise has Clooney and Roberts – but also a mixed reputation
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Squid Game fans will soon be able to compete against each other for free
Netflix is going big for the new season
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Your affordable Netflix subscription could soon be scrapped
It's time to choose a new plan
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Netflix shows teaser for its biggest-ever show, before it even wraps shooting!
Stranger Things 5 is going to be huge
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
PS5 owners get Apple TV+ for free – no stings attached
This handy free trial returns
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Prime Video's new no.1 movie has a Rotten Tomatoes score that you won't believe
Tyler Perry does it again
By Max Freeman-Mills Published