Apples Never Fall is a mystery drama television miniseries developed by Melanie Marnich and based on Liane Moriarty's novel of the same name. It premiered on Peacock on March 14, 2024. It is the also the first Liane Moriarty novel-based series that does not involve Nicole Kidman in either production nor the cast.
Contents
Premise
Two tennis coaches, Stan and Joy, sell their school and are ready to enjoy retired life. But when matriarch Joy Delaney suddenly goes missing, her husband Stan appears as a possible suspect, because they had an altercation before her disappearance. Their four children are forced to revisit the image of the perfect couple they had of their parents and family secrets surface.
Cast
Main
Annette Bening as Joy Delaney, the matriarch and Stan's wife. Her disappearance is the main mystery
Sam Neill as Stan Delaney, the patriarch and Joy's husband. After Joy disappears, he becomes the main suspect
Jake Lacy as Troy Delaney, Joy and Stan's wealthy older son and venture capitalist
Conor Merrigan Turner as Logan Delaney, Joy and Stan's younger son who almost became a pro tennis player, but now manages a marina
Essie Randles as Brooke Delaney, Joy and Stan's youngest child and physical therapist
Georgia Flood as Savannah, a woman who shows up at Joy and Stan's doorstep one night
Jeanine Serralles as Elena Camacho, a detective looking into Joy's disappearance
Dylan Thuraisingham as Ethan Remy, Elena's partner who's investigating Joy's disappearance
Alison Brie as Amy Delaney, Joy and Stan's oldest child and spiritual life coach
Recurring
Katrina Lenk as Lucia Fortino, Monty's wife who's having an affair with Troy
Nate Mann as Simon Barrington, Amy's 24-year-old landlord and roommate
Ana Maria Belo as Caro Azinovic, Joy and Stan's neighbor who is also Joy's friend
Giles Matthey as Harry Haddad, a tennis star who Stan used to coach
Paula Andrea Placido as Gina Solis, Brooke's fiancée
Pooja Shah as Indira Chaundry, Logan's girlfriend
Madeleine Jones as Claire Delaney, Troy's ex-wife
Timm Sharp as Monty Fortino, Troy's boss and Lucia's husband
Production
David Heyman won the rights to the novel in March 2021 to develop it for television. In February 2022, Peacock gave it a straight to series order. In February 2023, Annette Bening, Sam Neill, Alison Brie and Jake Lacy were cast to star. In March, Georgia Flood, Conor Merrigan Turner, Essie Randles, Jeanine Serralles and Dylan Thuraisingham were added to the cast. Katrina Lenk, Timm Sharp and Nate Mann were among six cast in recurring roles in June.
Filming began in Queensland, Australia and London, England in March 2023, before it was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 46% approval rating with an average rating of 5.9/10, based on 39 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "There's the seed of a strong series in Apples Never Fall thanks to its outstanding cast and intriguing hook, but those promising elements can't quite polish up a rote story." Metacritic assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Karina Adelgaard of Heaven of Horror gave Apples Never Fall a 4 out of 5. Matt Roush of TV Insider gave the series a 2.5 out of 5.