Apple TV+'s Lazarus Cast, Director, Plot And More Details
Not to be confused with "The Lazarus Project" or "The Lazarus Effect," "Lazarus" is an upcoming series for Apple TV+. The company behind the iPhone has been running the streaming service for a few years now, with some major hits including "Ted Lasso," "Schmigadoon!", "Severance," and many more.
An adaptation of the Swedish book series "Joona Linna," the series is unconnected to any other existing property, with this being the first planned season. As such, we don't have much information to go on aside from what's been reported, but we'll do our best with the information we have to inform you of what we know about the series, what we can guess about it, and what we'll simply have to wait to find out about.
Will "Lazarus" be Apple TV+'s next big hit? We'll have to wait and see until it comes out, but in the meantime, here is everything we know about the upcoming AppleTV+ series.
When will Lazarus be released?
A common question many might have about the upcoming series is, "When can I watch the thing?" Unfortunately, we don't have a definite release date or even window for you. The show was announced in February 2023, and we haven't really heard anything on the status of "Lazarus" since then. As of right now, we don't even know when filming for the series will begin — we're assuming "Lazarus" was impacted by the now-concluded writers' and actors' strikes — so don't expect to be streaming the show anytime soon. That's especially true now that Tom Hardy is busy working on a third "Venom" movie and Zazie Beetz has been working on "Joker: Folie à Deux."
What is the plot of Lazarus?
According to a report from Deadline, "Lazarus" is an adaptation of the Swedish book series "Joona Linna." There are currently nine entries in the book series, with the first, "The Hypnotist," being published in 2009 and the most recent, "The Spider," having come out in 2022. The seventh entry in the series is actually titled "Lazarus," and the books are written by Lars Kepler, a pseudonym for the married couple Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril.
As far as the plot goes, Deadline has a short description of the premise: "An emaciated young man is found wandering along a train track. Thirteen years earlier, he and his sister went missing, presumed victims of the notorious serial killer Jurek Walter. To find the sister, police detective Saga Bauer must go undercover in the maximum-security psychiatric hospital where Walter has been kept since his arrest years ago."
Who is starring in Lazarus?
We have some big names joining the cast of "Lazarus," although we currently only know the identities of two actors.
The first is Zazie Beetz, known for her Emmy-nominated performance of Vanessa in "Atlanta" and for other roles such as Domino in "Deadpool 2" and Sophie in "Joker." Beetz will be playing Inspector Saga Bauer, who is tasked with going undercover at the psychiatric hospital to find a missing person.
The second of the two actors is Tom Hardy, known for his Oscar-nominated performance of John Fitzgerald in "The Revenant," among countless other iconic performances, including Eddie Brock and Venom in the "Venom" films, "Mad" Max Rockatansky in "Mad Max: Fury Road," Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises," and many more. Hardy will play Jurek Walter, the serial killer Saga is trying to get information out of.
Whether or not Saga Bauer will end up getting that information from Jurek Walter, or if she will end up a victim of the dangerous, deranged individual, remains to be seen.
Who is directing Lazarus?
It's not just who appears on the screen that's important, however. Just as important are the people making things as they appear onscreen, from the screenwriters to producers, and of course, the director.
In this case, Øystein Karlsen will be the writer, executive producer, and director for "Lazarus." Karlsen is best known for writing and directing for the Norwegian comedy series "Dag," which ran for four seasons between 2010 and 2015. He also directed four episodes of the Netflix original series, "Lilyhammer," which was sadly canceled after three seasons from 2012 to 2014.
On the production side, Tom Hardy himself will be a producer alongside his longtime producing partner Dean Baker. Zazie Beetz will also take the role of executive producer, alongside David Rysdahl, Lars Kepler (Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril), Niclas Saomonsson, Barry Jossen, Tana Jamieson, Heather Kadin, Peter Micelli, and Jack Whigam. That's a lot of producers!