Published Jun 21, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
Denis is a news writer for Collider with close to five years of experience in the industry. He has analyzed shows across different genres, formats and styles. His favorite types of articles to write are exciting news updates and episodic deep-dives. He might say he doesn’t have a favorite show, but he has watched The Wire, Shameless, The Big Bang Theory, and The Blacklist more than once. Denis is increasingly becoming focused on the global streaming arena and how media connects with audiences in various markets. Find him on X tweeting about something random that occurred to him about a TV show or the industry in general.
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Thrillers are currently having their moment on Apple TV. Whether it’s crime dramas like Jon Hamm’s Your Friends & Neighbors or sci-fi dramas like Star City, the streamer is keeping the adrenaline pumping with the current slate of airing shows. Even fans of horror get a treat from Widow’s Bay, while comedy lovers can tune in to Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. But the ruling show is currently one that combines most of these other aspects, packaging them into a psychologically thrilling story to keep viewers hooked.
This story features one of the most legally and morally complex positions a lawyer can find themselves in. A long time ago, they represented someone and lost the case, sending their client to prison for 17 years. Evidence is unearthed later on that the client was innocent of the murder they’re accused of. It now becomes clear that the lawyer offered bad counsel, and her motivations are called into question because she ended up marrying the prosecutor in the case, and they have a family. Their client is worse off than they were when they went to prison, and their comeback hints they are seeking revenge.
This is the premise of Cape Fear, Nick Antosca’s television adaptation of the 1964 book, The Executioners. Amy Adams plays Anna Bowden, the lawyer at the center of this saga, while Patrick Wilson is Tom Bowden, the prosecutor in the case who becomes her future husband. Javier Bardem is the terrifying Max Cady, who is back with vengeance and starts torturing the Bowdens psychologically. For Anna and Tom, one of the most painful pressure points is their children, Zack (Joe Anders) and Natalie (Lily Colias), who Cady seems to be targeting. The mystery and horror of this show have propelled it to the top of Apple TV’s global chart, according to FlixPatrol.
Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.
Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.
Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it’s too late for anyone who isn’t paying close enough attention.
Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.
Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.
Chucky’s greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it’s already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.
In next week’s episode, the show offers some answers. Who is Juliette Lewis’ character, and what does she have to do with Cady? In the 1991 adaptation, Lewis played the Bowden daughter, Danielle. Is there a connection between the film and the show? Meanwhile, Anna doesn’t trust her daughter’s new friend because of her ties to Cady, so she goes into Mama Bear mode. Finally, Tom is in the office, but things are not going as smoothly as he’d hoped. Does this involve a certain coworker he shared a steamy moment with? Cape Fear Season 1, Episode 5, “Faith,” streams on Friday, June 26.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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