Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Disclaimer’ First Look Revealed: Cate Blanchett Stars as a Journalist Confronting Hidden Secrets

The first look at Alfonso Cuarón‘s ‘Disclaimer,’ a seven-episode Apple TV+ thriller series starring Cate Blanchett, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Louis Partridge, was revealed by Vanity Fair.

The show is written, directed, and produced by Cuarón. Blanchett stars as a powerful journalist who finds troubling details from her own secret past inside the pages of a lurid novel. Kevin Kline plays a frail and lonesome old man who publishes it, eager to inflict not just pain but also humiliation on the woman he believes caused his own loss and sorrows. ‘Disclaimer’ is a cautionary tale about the urge to punish — and the way half-truths harden into misplaced rage.

Based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Renée Knight, filming for the series began in June 2022 and wrapped in March 2023. Emmanuel Lubezki and Bruno Delbonnel are the cinematographers.

The show stars Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft, Kevin Kline as Stephen Brigstocke, Sacha Baron Cohen as Robert, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nicholas, Louis Partridge as Jonathan, Lesley Manville as Nancy, HoYeon Jung as Kim, Liv Hill as Sasha, Gemma Jones as Helen, Anya Marco Harris as Aleena, Leila George as Young Catherine, Adam El Hagar as Young Robert, Archie George as Lattimer, Youssef Kerkour as Richard Perkins, and Daniele Nicoli as the Judicial Officer.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Cuarón says “It’s as old as humanity. We have an immense facility to create judgments.” Cuarón added, “But there’s a pleasure about it. You can see it nowadays in how easily people jump onto the bandwagon. That is a part of humanity that makes us feel a bit above, that makes us feel a bit more comfortable with ourselves. ‘There’s always someone that is a bit worse than me.’”

Blanchett describes ‘Disclaimer’ as exploring ‘sharp, quick, and lasting judgments’ formed from harshness rather than empathy. She reflects, ‘Maybe we add our voices to the cacophony for fear of being judged ourselves. We are all the heroes of our own narratives, right?’ She adds, ‘To that end, there is much unflattering human behavior depicted in the series,’ as she tells Vanity Fair.

The executive producers of ‘Disclaimer’ are Cuarón, Blanchett, Steve Golin, David Levine, Dawn Olmstead, and Gabriela Rodríguez. The production companies involved are Esperanto Filmoj, Dirty Films, and Anonymous Content.

Deadline confirms that ‘Disclaimer’ will premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival on August 29-30, with the first four episodes shown on the first day and the remaining three episodes on the second day. The series is then scheduled to premiere on Apple TV+ on October 11, 2024.