Last Seen is an Australian thriller television miniseries created by Kris Mrksa, based on the book The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn. It stars Patrick Brammall, Brendan Cowell, Maxine Peake, and Daniel Henshall. The series premiered on 9 September 2026 on Apple TV and received positive reviews from critics.
Premise Ian, an alcoholic former police officer, now emergency dispatcher, receives a call about a body found near his home; he thinks it may be his daughter, who went missing 11 years previously.
Cast Main Patrick Brammall as Ian Ridley Brendan Cowell as Henry Reid, a reclusive fundamentalist Maxine Peake as Jenna Reid, Henry's wife Daniel Henshall as Donald Reid Jessica Wren as Debbie McGuire Zahra Newman as Isabel Pena Taylor Ferguson as Polly Foster Bert La Bonté as Bill McCracken Tobias Muhafidin as Dean Ridley Carolyn Bock as Lydia Boyd James Saunders as Ben Sizemore Chloe Jean Lourdes as Sarah Reid, Henry's daughter Felix Cameron as Tommy Brenton Colin Friels as Gareth Reid
Recurring Jack Green as Constable Steven Lewis
Guest Fletcher Humphrys as Peter Mulligan Justin Bell as Shane Kennedy Charly Thorn as Tyra Kennedy Aly Zhang as Penny Cliff Wood as Les Potter Spencer Ellis-Anderson as Andy Kennedy Oscar Redding as Jack Brenton Carlin Monteiro as Sam Lynch Dash Maxwell as Damian "Damo" Tully Zane Blumeris as Charlie Halloran Will Crittenden as Jayden Brenton Judith Roberts as Francine Jackson Raine as Angus Danny Matier as Tony Simon Maiden as Eli Julie Forsyth as Rebecca Martin Blum as John Ana Maria Belo as DCI Christine Jensen Robert Plazek as Tactical Officer Tyler
Production The six-part series is written by Kris Mrksa, who adapted the script from Ryan David Jahn's 2011 novel The Dispatcher, transplanting the setting from midwest US to Australia. Mrksa also served as an executive producer, along with Jamie Laurenson and Hakan Kousetta of 60Forty Films, and Joanna Werner of Werner Film Productions. Christian Schwochow is director and co-executive producer.
Patrick Brammall was cast in the lead role in June 2024. In March 2025, Maxine Peake, Brendan Cowell, Daniel Henshall, Jessica Wren, Zahra Newman, and Chloe Jean Lourdes were added to the cast.
Filming began in Australia in March 2025, with Bonnie Elliott responsible for cinematography. It is the first Apple TV show to be both made and entirely filmed in Australia.
Episodes
Release The series premiered globally on Apple TV on 9 September 2026 with two episodes, followed by one each week.
Reception The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 86% approval rating with an average rating of 7.2/10, based on 22 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Last Seen serves its mystery in bold spades, taking a story of familial tragedy to the brink of heart-wrenching and engrossing, while Patrick Brammall's performance takes this series to the next level." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 78 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian gave the series 5 out of 5 stars, calling it "riveting television" and "one of the standout shows of the year". Brian Tallerico gave it 3 out of 4 stars on RogerEbert.com, praising the "nuanced character work".
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