‘Disclaimer’ Teaser: Cate Blanchett Has a Dark Secret in Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ Adaptation

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read

Cate Blanchett is trying to get rid of any literary notes on her past scandals for upcoming Apple TV+ limited series “Disclaimer.”

Alfonso Cuarón writes, directs, and executive produces the buzzy psychological thriller series based on Renée Knight’s bestselling 2015 novel. “Notes on a Scandal” and “TáR” star — and two-time Academy Award winner — Blanchett plays acclaimed investigative journalist Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett), whose reputation is questioned after a mysterious novel seems to parallel one of her darkest secrets.

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Sacha Baron Cohen plays Blanchett’s onscreen husband, with “The Power of the Dog” breakout star Kodi Smit-McPhee as their son. Kevin Kline and Lesley Manville play two grieving parents whose own son may have lost his life due to Catherine’s troubled past. Leila George presumably plays a younger version of Blanchett’s character, with Louis Partridge as her love interest in the novel-within-the-novel story. Hoyeon also co-stars.

The series will premiere out of competition at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.

“Disclaimer” is Cuarón’s first TV series since his 2014 NBC show “Believe,” which aired only 12 episodes before being canceled. Cuarón has a deal with Apple that was first announced in 2019.

During an interview with Vanity Fair, Cuarón credited Apple for being “very generous” to let him approach shooting the series as a seven-hour-long film.

“They were very generous when I said I could only do it as a film,” Cuarón said. “In a TV show, you shoot five pages a day, and sometimes even more. I shoot one page a day. So the shoot was very, very long. We were shooting with pandemic restrictions and with actors getting COVID, meaning changes of schedule and domino effects happening.”

He continued, “In television, you go A, B, C, D. In film, you find a way to go from A to D directly. Here it was about experimenting with something different. I have never done something so overtly narrative.”

The series is produced by Esperanto Filmoj and Anonymous Content. The series will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, October 11, followed by new episodes every Friday through November 15.

Cuarón serves as executive producer alongside Esperanto Filmoj’s Gabriela Rodriguez and Anonymous Content’s David Levine and the late Steve Golin. Author Knight serves as co-executive producer.

Cuarón’s collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki (“Gravity,” “Birdman,” “The Revenant”) and Academy Award nominee Bruno Delbonnel (“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Darkest Hour”) serve as directors of photography and executive produce. Donald Sabourin and Carlos Morales also executive produce.

The score is composed by multiple Academy and Grammy Award winner Finneas O’Connell (“Barbie,” “No Time to Die”).

“Disclaimer” premieres October 11 on Apple TV+. Check out the teaser below.

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