Cape Fear

Premise

Max Cady, a vicious and unreformed ex-convict, is released from prison and sets about taking revenge on Anna Bowden, the lawyer who represented him 17 years earlier in court.

Cast

Main

Javier Bardem as Max Cady, a sociopathic ex-convict released after serving seventeen years for the murder of his pregnant wife

Amy Adams as Anna Bowden, a senior attorney at the Savannah Justice League Project (SJLP) and Tom's wife

Patrick Wilson as Tom Bowden, a former prosecutor, high-priced attorney, and Anna's husband

Joe Anders as Zack Bowden, Anna and Tom's troubled son and Natalie's younger half-brother

Lily Collias as Natalie Bowden, Anna's daughter, Tom's stepdaughter, and Zack's older half-sister

CCH Pounder as Noa Toussaint, Anna's colleague and director of SJLP

Malia Pyles as Nevaeh Valentine, a mysterious young woman who targets both Zack and Natalie

Recurring

Jamie Hector as Ray Rawlins, an ex-con turned private investigator employed by SJLP

Anna Baryshnikov as Tabitha, a journalist for the fictional Savannah Times doing a story on Anna

Dot Cloud as Callie, a friend of Natalie

Eric Mendenhall as Louis Pilgrim, a true crime podcaster

Paul Schneider as Grayson Park, a detective

Miles Mussenden as Ned Carson, a detective

Margarita Levieva as Lexi, Tom's colleague

Ron Perlman as Robert Cady, Max's father

Juliette Lewis as Crystal Cady, Max's mentally unstable half-sister who is stalking Max. Lewis also starred in the 1991 adaptation.

Guest

Geneva Carr as a legal commentator reporting on Cady's release

Jullian Dulce Vida as Byron French, a wrongfully convicted inmate represented by SJLP

Lynn Wanlass as Bunny French, Byron's mother

Kathleen Scott Paul as Amy Brancato, Cady's deceased mistress who takes responsibility for his crime

Felisha Terrell as Mara Rawlins, Ray's wife

Paul Calderón as the Padrino, the leader of a prison gang

Wesley Strick as an ER doctor treating Zack. Strick also wrote the 1991 adaptation.

Roberto Sanchez as Ruben Ramirez, an inmate represented by SJLP

Jay Huguley as Paul, Anna's ex-fiancée and Natalie's biological father

Ted Levine as Brandon Deveraux, Anna's estranged father and Tom's father-in-law

Ethan Embry as Ollie

Wynn Everett as Catherine Buckley, Tom and Lexi's client

Sunny Mabrey as Trish

Francesca Scorsese as Reese, an influencer

Mike Pniewski as Ed Coburn, the owner of Tarwater, the private prison where Max was incarcerated

Judd Lormand as Dave, a car salesman with a grudge against Cady

Production

Nick Antosca was a fan of both Cape Fear movies since childhood, and he asked Universal to develop an adaptation of them. He began development of the series through his deal with Universal Content Productions along with Amblin Television. It is produced by Eat the Cat, Universal Content Productions, and Amblin Television. Development of the show was first announced in November 2023 as the project sought buyers. In April 2024, it was revealed the series was in development at Apple TV+. The series would receive a greenlight in November, with Javier Bardem cast in the lead role of Max Cady. In February 2025, Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson joined the starring cast. In April 2025, it was revealed that CCH Pounder joined the main cast, with Morten Tyldum now onboard to executive produce and direct the pilot. In May 2025, Anna Baryshnikov, Jamie Hector, Clara Wong, Lily Collias, Joe Anders and Malia Pyles joined the cast. Ron Perlman, Ted Levine, Jason Scott Morgan and Margarita Levieva were added to the cast in September 2025, with Levieva replacing Wong in her role. In October 2025, Patrick Fischler was cast in a recurring role.

Filming began in Atlanta on April 30, 2025 and wrapped on October 15, 2025.

Release

The series was released on Apple TV on June 5, 2026, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis until July 31.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 75%, based on 76 reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 7.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Elevated by Javier Bardem's manic charisma and the genre's best pulpy intricacies, Cape Fear revitalizes the revenge thriller and manages to make a noteworthy name for itself." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.