See Ray Liotta's Final Performance in Black Bird Trailer

Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser and more star in Apple TV+'s Black Bird, based on the true crime memoir In With the Devil.

By Cydney Contreras Jun 08, 2022 4:26 PMTags
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Apple TV+ is bringing to life the chilling true story of Jimmy Keene in the new series Black Bird.

The streamer released the first trailer for the 8-episodes series, starring Taron EgertonPaul Walter Hauser, Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear and Ray Liotta, on June 8. In the preview, Taron's character, Jimmy, is arrested for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and sentenced to 10 years without the possibility of parole in a minimum-security prison.

His dad, police officer Big Jim Keene, played by the late Ray Liotta, visits Jimmy in prison, telling him, "I never wanted this for you. I wanted a totally different life. A steady paycheck, kids, a family." 

When Jimmy asks for Big Jim's advice on how to get out of this predicament, his father replies there's no "quick" solution. The only alternative, according to Apple TV+, is for Jimmy to "enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall," played by Paul Walter Hauser.

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At first, Jimmy says that he wouldn't even take the deal "for all the money in the world," but he eventually realizes he has no choice. 

Larry is suspected of killing 14 women, but police have only found one of the victim's bodies. Moreover, Larry has submitted an appeal on his conviction, giving Jimmy a short window to coax a confession out of the suspected serial killer.

As Jimmy works to get to the truth, he finds himself questioning, "Is this suspected killer telling the truth? Or is it just another tale from a serial liar?"

Black Bird is based on the novel In With the Devil and is developed, written and executive produced by Dennis LeHane, the author behind Leonardo DiCaprio's Shutter Island and Sean Penn's Mystic River

The Apple TV+ series wrapped filming shortly before Ray Liotta died on May 26.

Apple TV+

LeHane shared a special tribute to the actor following his death, revealing that he wrote the role of Big Jim specifically for the Goodfellas star. "I had no other actor in mind and was floored—humbled, honored, fist-pump elated—when he leapt at playing the part less than 24 hours after we sent him the scripts," LeHane shared on May 26. "And the performance he gave? It was a master class."

The writer continued, "Ray came to set to work. He expected those he worked with to be prepared, professional, and to take their work as seriously as he did. I loved that about him."

Fans can see Ray's performance when Black Bird premieres July 8 on Apple TV+.

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