“Undeniably gripping”: Amy Adams and Javier Bardem enter a terrifying "relationship" in crime drama Cape Fear

Calling all crime thriller fans, a dark and - undeniably gripping - series is coming to Apple TV+ that we think you're going to like. Cape Fear is the streamer's next big series that will be based on both the 1957 novel The Executioners (which inspired Gregory Peck’s 1962 film), as well as the famous 1991 remake directed by Martin Scorsese . And who better to lead the cast than Amy Adams and Javier Bardem, who are entering into a terrifying "relationship" of sorts.

The 1991 film shot to the top of the box office, as director Martin Scorsese turned his hand to the neo-noir psychological thriller, which sees psychopathic criminal Max Cady (played by Robert De Niro) terrorise a family who helped put him behind bars previously. Now, the TV show will be the third iteration of Cape Fear, and starring Javier as Cady, in one of his creepiest roles since playing mushroom-haired serial killer Anton Chighur in 2007’s No Country For Old Men.

While we wait for the series to arrive on our screens, here’s everything you need to know about the new adaptation of the classic story, including the full cast, plot and potential release date.

What is Cape Fear about?

The new Cape Fear series – created by Nick Antosca – focuses on happily married solicitors, Amanda and Steve Bowden, who are living a perfectly charmed life, until the convicted killer Max Cady, who the couple have had dealings with in the past, is released from prison. It’s been dubbed a “tense, Hitchcockian thriller” that will “examine America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century”. It will differ from the 1991 film in that both the married couple are legal workers who have been involved with Cady’s previous crimes before.

Who's in the cast of Cape Fear?

There’s a strong line-up so far. Javier Bardem, as mentioned, will be going into full on villain-mode as Cady, while Amy Adams will be playing Amanda Bowden, one half of the couple whose life he makes a misery.

Other confirmed actors for the series so far include:

• Patrick Wilson, playing Tom Bowden
• CCH Pounder
• Anna Baryshnikov
• Jamie Hector
• Clara Wong
• Lily Collias
• Joe Anders
• Malia Pyles
• Samantha Clifford

What happened in the original Cape Fear film?

Sam Bowden (played by Nick Nolte) was Max Cady’s (De Niro) defender at a criminal case in which he was sentenced to 14 years, but Bowden hid a report that hinted that Cady’s victim was “promiscuous” as he was so appalled by his crimes.

Cady was released – and he knew about the cover up, so he stalks Bowden, his wife Leigh (Jessica Lange) and their daughter Danny (a young Juliette Lewis) in their home of the fictional New Essex, in North Carolina.

The psychopathic Cady attacks another woman, and when he gets close to Danny, Sam’s daughter, Sam knows he needs to take matters into his own hands.

Interestingly, the 1991 film was originally developed by Steven Spielberg, but he eventually decided that it was too violent and swapped directing duties with Martin Scorsese in exchange for Schindler's List, which Scorsese had decided not to make.

Spielberg and Scorsese are both executive directors on the new TV series, as are Bardem and Adams.

How can I watch Cape Fear?

Filming for the series began in April 2025 in Atlanta and it’s expected to last until October of the same year. So while Apple TV+ hasn’t given us an exact release date yet, we’d expect it might be streamed towards the end of 2026.