The Changeling is an American horror fantasy television series created by Kelly Marcel and directed by Melina Matsoukas based on the novel of the same name by Victor LaValle for Apple TV+. It premiered on September 8, 2023, with the first three episodes.
Contents
Premise
A man goes in search of his wife after she does something horrific in the aftermath of the birth of their first child.
Cast
Main
LaKeith Stanfield as Apollo Kagwa, a used book dealer
Adina Porter as Lillian Kagwa, Apollo's mother
Alexis Louder as young Lillian Kagwa
Clark Backo as Emma "Emmy" Valentine, Apollo's pregnant wife
Samuel T. Herring as William Wheeler, a man who befriends Apollo in a quest to win back his wife and children
Jared Abrahamson as Brian West, a parole officer, Apollo's father and Lillian’s husband
Recurring
Amirah Vann as Kim Valentine, Emma's sister and sole family member
Malcolm Barrett as Patrice Green, Apollo’s best friend, ex-veteran and fellow book enthusiast
Elena Hurst as Yurina
Emy Coligado as Carlotta
Guest
Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mrs. Ortiz
Michelle Giroux as Gretta
Karen Giordano as Sheryl
Kim Roberts as Alice
Dennis Andres as Leif
Christine Spang as June
Sonia Dhillon Tully as Dr. Calero
Joris Jarsky as Sam Valentine
Adam Augslander as David Krug
Tom Rooney as Father Hagen
Jane Kaczmarek as Cal
Teca Pereira as Old Washer Woman
Episodes
Melina Matsoukas, Jonathan van Tulleken, Dana Gonzales and Slick Naim directed the episodes.
Production
Annapurna Pictures acquired the rights to the novel in August 2017, with the intention to turn it into a television series. In August 2021, Apple TV+ greenlit the series, with Kelly Marcel writing the series and serving as showrunner, Melina Matsoukas directing and Lakeith Stanfield cast to star. Adina Porter and Clark Backo were added to the cast in March 2022. In June, musician Samuel T. Herring joined the cast. Malcolm Barrett, Alexis Louder, Amirah Vann and Jared Abrahamson would be cast in recurring roles in July.
Filming on the series began by May 2022 in New Jersey under the working title Improbable Valentine. Filming locations included Hoboken, Jersey City, and New York City, as well as Toronto and London, Ontario.
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 74% approval score with an average rating of 6.95/10 based on 73 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grounded by a superb LaKeith Stanfield, The Changeling is an ambitious fairy tale that may be too scattershot in its tonality but never lacks for imagination or spirit." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Accolades
At the 39th Independent Spirit Awards Adina Porter was nominated for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series while Clark Backo for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series.
