Alfonso Cuarón is returning to genre-bending entertainment with a new series that sounds like a real-world take on a fantastical premise. It’s called Disclaimer, and it’s Apple TV+’s next big swing. Starring Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer is a seven-part thriller aimed at driving a wedge between the real world and the fictional, and it seems like Cuarón is perfect for the project.
Based on Renée Knight’s 2016 novel, Disclaimer isn’t exactly science fiction but has a premise that will make fans picture a mash-up between Black Mirror and The NeverEnding Story. When a journalist named Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett) is given a novel, she’s horrified to discover this work of fiction holds the secrets of her life. According to the official description from Apple TV, “She is now the main character in a story that exposes her darkest secrets.”
Also starring Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George, Hoyeon, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Sacha Baron Cohen, Disclaimer is Cuarón’s first directorial project since his 2018 film Roma. Its reality-bending premise seems suited to his sensibilities.
While Cuarón isn’t a sci-fi director, many of his projects have a touch of the speculative. From his dark take on the time-twisting Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to the gripping space drama of Gravity, Cuarón knows how to take high-concept stories and ground them in believability.
Disclaimer probably won’t quite fit in with Apple TV+’s ever-growing slate of science fiction triumphs like Monarch, Foundation, Silo, For All Mankind, and Severance, but with Cuarón’s sensibilities and the meta-fictional premise, it at least seems sci-fi adjacent. If nothing else, it’s certainly a series to look forward to while we wait for Foundation Season 3 and For All Mankind Season 5. Apple has been a more reliable producer of “prestige” genre TV than many other streamers put together, so here’s hoping Disclaimer continues that trend.
