There are a variety of prison movies where people are forced into a faustian bargain to better their lives – or chances of parole. For Taron Egerton's Jimmy Keene, he'll be doing just that, albeit in new Apple TV+ series Black Bird, which has a trailer online.
Inspired by actual events, the story follows high school football hero and decorated policeman’s son Jimmy, who is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison. Yet he is given the choice of a lifetime — enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter 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?
The cast for this one also includes Greg Kinnear, Sepideh Moafi and the late, great Ray Liotta playing Jimmy's dad, Big Jim Keene. Behind the scenes we have crime novel legend (and occasional scriptwriter) Dennis Lehane developing, writing and running the show, while the first three episodes are directed by by Academy Award nominee Michaël R. Roskam.
Black Bird launches with the first two episodes on 8 July, with the remaining four once a week on Fridays.