Rocketman star Taron Egerton plays Jimmy Keene, a convict who’s given the opportunity to shorten his sentence if he elicits a confession from a suspected serial killer in Apple TV+’s Black Bird. The six-episode limited series, which just dropped a full trailer, is based on a true story and adapted from James Keene and Hillel Levin’s true crime memoir, In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption.
Emmy Award nominee Ray Liotta stars as Jimmy Keene’s father Big Jim Keene. Sadly, Liotta passed away in his sleep on May 26, 2022 at the age of 67. The cast also includes Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall, Greg Kinnear as Brian Miller, and Sepideh Moafi as Lauren McCauley.
Bestselling author Dennis Lehane developed the project and executive produces the psychological thriller. Lehane also adapted Keene’s memoir, with Oscar nominee Michaël R. Roskam directing the first three episodes and executive producing. Taron Egerton, James Keene, Kary Antholis, EDEN Productions’ Richard Plepler, and Imperative Entertainment’s Bradley Thomas, Dan Friedkin, and Ryan Friedkin are also involved as executive producers. Additional executive producers include Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert of EMJAG Productions.
Black Bird will premiere on Apple TV+ on July 8, 2022 with the release of the first two episodes. The remaining episodes will debut on subsequent Fridays leading up to the August 5th finale.
Apple TV+’s official Black Bird synopsis:
“Inspired by actual events, when high school football hero and decorated policeman’s son Jimmy Keene (Egerton) is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum-security prison, he is given the choice of a lifetime — enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Hauser), or stay where he is and serve his full sentence with no possibility of parole.
Keene quickly realizes his only way out is to elicit a confession and find out where the bodies of several young girls are buried before Hall’s appeal goes through. But is this suspected killer telling the truth? Or is it just another tale from a serial liar? This dramatic and captivating story subverts the crime genre by enlisting the help of the very people put behind bars to solve its mysteries.”
