The Changeling is an upcoming horror-fantasy series coming to Apple TV+. The series’ first three episodes are scheduled to release on September 8th, 2023, with LaKeith Stanfield starring as a grieving father journeying through a supernatural version of New York. Aside from Stanfield, it has been confirmed that Adina Porter, Clark Backo, and Samuel T. Herring will also star in The Changeling, along with Amirah Vann, Malcolm Barrett, and Jared Abrahamson. The plot of the series is being kept under wraps until its release next month, but here’s everything we currently know about The Changeling on Apple TV+.
Who’s Starring in ‘The Changeling’?
Based on a 2017 novel of the same name by Victor LaValle, The Changeling will star Knives Out and Haunted Mansion alum LaKeith Stanfield as Apollo Kagwa, a used book dealer living in New York. Clark Backo (The Handmaid’s Tale) will star as Emma Valentine, Apollo’s wife who vanishes after the birth of the couple’s first child. In searching for his missing wife, Apollo embarks on “a death-defying odyssey through a New York he didn’t know existed,” per the official show description.
Adina Porter (American Horror Story) will star as Lillian Kagwa, Apollo’s mother. Samuel T. Herring – also known as Hemlock Ernst – as William Wheeler, a man who befriends Apollo on his quest to get Emma back. The series’ recurring guests stars include Amirah Vann (How to Get Away With Murder) as Kim Valentine, Emma’s sister and only remaining family member, Malcolm Barrett (The Boys) will star as Patrice Green, Apollo’s best friend, and Jared Abrahamson (Travelers) as Apollo’s father.
‘The Changeling’ Novel vs. The Apple TV+ Series
In the novel that inspired The Changeling on Apple TV+, Victor LaValle created a story that outright compares itself to a fairy tale, but “the old kind” where there’s no such thing as “happily ever after.” Critics agreed with this comparison, adding that LaValle isn’t afraid to highlight the “anxieties and ambivalences of modern parenting” and the “rigors of survival in modern America.”
In particular, Terrance Rafferty of the New York Times Book Review had this to say about The Changeling:
“The people of “The Changeling” pay and pay for their fleeting stretches of happiness, weep in the meantime, then pay again, and tell themselves the stories they need to go on. In New York there are monsters (and heroes) on every corner, not outside over there but right here. It’s a hell of a town.”
Noticeably, The Changeling novel depicts Emma as committing some kind of horrible crime before disappearing, painting her in a potentially darker light than the adapted series. It’s currently unclear how much of the book will be adapted to the eight-episode TV series, though given the general tone of the trailers Apple has shared so far, it’s probably safe to say The Changeling will deliver on the novel’s most horrifying aspects. Additionally, many of the actors starring in The Changeling have experience in creepy, off-putting, or downright horrifying movies or TV, lending more credence to The Changeling Apple TV+ series leaning into its horror label.
The Apple TV+ adaptation of The Changeling was first announced by FX in 2018. Apple TV+ would pick up the series in 2021, with Annapurna Television (Pam & Tommy) set to produce with Kelly Marcel brought on as the writer for all eight episodes of The Changeling series. Melina Matsoukas, a well-known music video director, has been confirmed as the director for the series’ first episode, though nothing beyond that yet. Marcel and Matsoukas will also double as executive producers for the series, along with David Knoller, Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle, Patrick Chu, Ali Krug, David Wolkis, and LaKeith Stanfield. Black Magnolia, Rosebud Pictures, and De La Revolution Films have all boarded The Changeling alongside Annapurna and Apple Studios.
The first three episodes of The Changeling are scheduled to release to Apple TV+ on September 8th, followed by weekly episodes Fridays.
