Alfonso Cuarón's Disclaimer trailer lures Cate Blanchett (and us) into mystery

Of late we’ve been questioning how the hell Apple TV+ justifies spending so many millions of dollars on scarcely-watched television shows. But then a limited series comes along starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville (and more), and it forces us to think, well, at least this is how they’re spending their monstrously excessive wealth. Alfonso Cuarón’s Disclaimer trailer doesn’t give much away about the new show, but it does look gorgeous and feel incredibly tense right up to that last moment where two fully clothed figures walk into the ocean together. 

Disclaimer was adapted by Cuarón from the novel of the same name by Renée Knight. “Acclaimed journalist Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett) built her reputation revealing the misdeeds and transgressions of others. When she receives a novel from an unknown author, she is horrified to realize she is now the main character in a story that exposes her darkest secrets,” reads the series’ synopsis. “As Catherine races to uncover the writer’s true identity, she is forced to confront her past before it destroys both her own life and her relationships with her husband Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen) and their son Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee).” 

Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George, and Hoyeon, also star, with Indira Varma as the series’ narrator. The Disclaimer trailer scrolls through several intriguing vignettes as a voiceover intones: “Beware of narrative and form. Their power can bring us closer to the truth, but because of our own deeply held beliefs and the judgments that we make, they can also be a weapon with a great power to manipulate. Ladies and gentlemen, be aware.” This feels like a very meta warning—much as it may apply to Catherine’s plight, it also applies to those of us watching. Speaking of form, the trailer bills this as a “seven part event,” perhaps meant to distance this from your typical TV show. Whatever mysterious form Disclaimer takes, the series premieres on October 11.