# Black Bird (2022)

> A imprisoned man is offered freedom if he can coax a confession out of a suspected serial killer.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/117987

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 62 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Dennis Lehane
- Network: Apple TV
- Cast: Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear, Ray Liotta, Addison Ross, Laney Stiebing, Robert Wisdom
- TMDB rating: 8.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4301160/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: bleak, tense, claustrophobic, morally murky, gritty

## What critics say

Viewers praise Black Bird as a tense, solid true crime miniseries with a strong lead performance, though some find the protagonist underexplored.

## Synopsis

Black Bird (2022) is a limited series created by Dennis Lehane for Apple TV, a crime drama adapted from a true-crime memoir tradition. Taron Egerton plays Jimmy Keene, a small-time prisoner serving a ten-year sentence who is offered his freedom if he can draw a confession out of suspected serial killer Larry Hall, played by Paul Walter Hauser. Greg Kinnear and Ray Liotta round out the principal cast, with Sepideh Moafi as a key investigative figure. The engine of the story is a dangerous psychological game: Jimmy must win the trust of a volatile, unsettling man while the prison environment and his own compromised motives press in around him. Each episode builds the tension through interrogation scenes, cell-block menace and fragmented memories of the crimes, so the case unfolds like a slow, claustrophobic puzzle. Told across six hour-long episodes, the miniseries plays as one continuous arc rather than a case of the week. Its tone is bleak, tense and morally murky, with a restrained, gritty visual register. Fans of True Detective, Mindhunter and Hannibal will find much to admire in its dark, character-driven examination of guilt, manipulation and survival.

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