Cape Fear is an American psychological thriller television miniseries created by Nick Antosca, based on the novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald and its film adaptations in 1962 and 1991. It stars an ensemble cast led by Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, and Patrick Wilson. It premiered on Apple TV on June 5, 2026 and received generally positive reviews.
Premise Max Cady, a vicious and unreformed ex-convict, is released from prison and sets about taking revenge on Anna Bowden, the lawyer who represented him 17 years earlier in court.
Cast Main
Javier Bardem as Max Cady, a sociopathic ex-convict released after serving seventeen years for the murder of his pregnant wife Amy Adams as Anna Bowden, a senior attorney at the Savannah Justice League Project (SJLP) and Tom's wife Patrick Wilson as Tom Bowden, a former prosecutor, high-priced attorney, and Anna's husband Joe Anders as Zack Bowden, Anna and Tom's troubled son and Natalie's younger half-brother Lily Collias as Natalie Bowden, Anna's daughter, Tom's stepdaughter, and Zack's older half-sister CCH Pounder as Noa Toussaint, Anna's colleague and director of SJLP Malia Pyles as Nevaeh Valentine, a mysterious young woman who targets both Zack and Natalie
Recurring
Jamie Hector as Ray Rawlins, an ex-con turned private investigator employed by SJLP Anna Baryshnikov as Tabitha, a journalist for the fictional Savannah Times doing a story on Anna Dot Cloud as Callie, a friend of Natalie Eric Mendenhall as Louis Pilgrim, a true crime podcaster Paul Schneider as Grayson Park, a detective Miles Mussenden as Ned Carson, a detective Margarita Levieva as Lexi, Tom's colleague Ron Perlman as Robert Cady, Max's father Juliette Lewis as Crystal Cady, Max's mentally unstable half-sister who is stalking Max. Lewis also starred in the 1991 adaptation.
Guest Geneva Carr as a legal commentator reporting on Cady's release Jullian Dulce Vida as Byron French, a wrongfully convicted inmate represented by SJLP Lynn Wanlass as Bunny French, Byron's mother Kathleen Scott Paul as Amy Brancato, Cady's deceased mistress who takes responsibility for his crime Felisha Terrell as Mara Rawlins, Ray's wife
Paul Calderón as the Padrino, the leader of a prison gang Wesley Strick as an ER doctor treating Zack. Strick also wrote the 1991 adaptation. Roberto Sanchez as Ruben Ramirez, an inmate represented by SJLP Jay Huguley as Paul, Anna's ex-fiancée and Natalie's biological father Ted Levine as Brandon Deveraux, Anna's estranged father and Tom's father-in-law
Ethan Embry as Ollie Wynn Everett as Catherine Buckley, Tom and Lexi's client Sunny Mabrey as Trish Francesca Scorsese as Reese, an influencer Mike Pniewski as Ed Coburn, the owner of Tarwater, the private prison where Max was incarcerated
Judd Lormand as Dave, a car salesman with a grudge against Cady Claire Bronson as Beth, Sophia's mother Peter Macon as Warren "Smiley" Pitt, a witness that could exonerate Ramirez
Martha Millan as Faith Valentine, Nevaeh's mother Clayton Farris as Henry Weitz
Patrick Fischler as Dr. Lee Max Mattern as Luke Teresa L. Graves as Val Tierny Jill Larson as Hester Cady, Max's stepmother
Episodes
Production Nick Antosca was a fan of both Cape Fear movies since childhood, and he asked Universal to develop an adaptation of them. He began development of the series through his deal with Universal Content Productions along with Amblin Television. It is produced by Eat the Cat, Universal Content Productions, and Amblin Television. Development of the show was first announced in November 2023 as the project sought buyers. In April 2024, it was revealed the series was in development at Apple TV+. The series would receive a greenlight in November, with Javier Bardem cast in the lead role of Max Cady. In February 2025, Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson joined the starring cast. In April 2025, it was revealed that CCH Pounder joined the main cast, with Morten Tyldum now onboard to executive produce and direct the pilot. In May 2025, Anna Baryshnikov, Jamie Hector, Clara Wong, Lily Collias, Joe Anders and Malia Pyles joined the cast. Ron Perlman, Ted Levine, Jason Scott Morgan and Margarita Levieva were added to the cast in September 2025, with Levieva replacing Wong in her role. In October 2025, Patrick Fischler was cast in a recurring role.
Filming began in Atlanta on April 30, 2025 and wrapped on October 15, 2025.
Release The series was released on Apple TV on June 5, 2026, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis until July 31.
Reception On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 75%, based on 76 reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 7.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Elevated by Javier Bardem's manic charisma and the genre's best pulpy intricacies, Cape Fear revitalizes the revenge thriller and manages to make a noteworthy name for itself." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
References
External links