Entertainment
Apple TV’s Criminally Underseen Thriller Is Still a Perfect 2-Part Weekend Binge
When production for Apple TV’s thriller series The Last Thing He Told Me was first announced, it seemed to have all the right ingredients to make for a TV hit. Not only was the series based on a best-selling novel, Laura Dave‘s 2021 book by the same name, but the series would star beloved Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner in her return to TV, and be produced by Reese Witherspoon‘s hit-making production company Hello Sunshine. Unfortunately, however, the series, which first released in 2023, has yet to hit its stride and find the right audience.
With a discouraging 47% score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, one thing is for certain: The Last Thing He Told Me has been underrated and underappreciated since the beginning. After all, not only does the series feature an interesting, unexpected story told through compelling performances, but Season 2 is even better than the first. So, while the critical reception might be enough to turn viewers away, the series is not only worth watching, it’s also the perfect weekend binge.
What Is ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ About?
One important thing to note before bingeing The Last Thing He Told Me Seasons 1 and 2 is that the installments are quite different from one another. While Season 1 is all about Owen’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) disappearance and his murky past, and how his wife Hannah (Garner) bonds with her stepdaughter Bailey (Angourie Rice) to keep each other safe and find out what happened to him, Season 2 flipped the script. In the sophomore season, which began airing on February 20, 2026, Owen’s been living off the grid for five years and working undercover for U.S. Marshal Grady (Augusto Aguilera). After getting as much intel as he can, Owen becomes set on dismantling the powerful and ultra-wealthy Campano family. By doing so, Owen’s new mission once again endangers his family, and threatens the newfound stability Hannah and Bailey have found together after the events of Season 1.
As such, while Season 1 is largely a mystery with puzzle pieces being distributed across its seven episodes, Season 2 is all about a family reuniting under pressure. After all, while Owen’s goal of finishing the job, getting out clean and returning home seems simple, things don’t exactly go to plan and his chaos quickly disrupts Hannah and Bailey’s new reality. That’s especially the case when Hannah gets mixed up with a member of the Campano family, Quinn (Judy Greer), despite everyone warning her against it. As a result, Hannah gets stuck in the middle trying to protect her stepdaughter while also figuring out what kind of life they can have with Owen, which is why Season 2 isn’t less of a whodunit and more of a pressure-cooker story about whether this trio can stay together once the truth finally stops being optional.
‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ Is an Underrated Thriller
With such an interesting premise, filled with unexpected twists and turns all throughout, The Last Thing He Told Me has established itself as a must-watch on Apple TV, even though it’s not found itself as a streaming or critical hit yet. According to Collider’s very own Tania Hussain, the second season of the show found a sweet spot. “This time, the plots and characters move with more direction and purpose,” Hussain wrote in her review. “The pacing is also a lot tighter, with higher stakes that feel earned instead of carefully plotted. Even when the season leans into more action or larger set pieces like a fight scene or even a car chase, the writing never loses sight of the story’s emotional center.”
Apple TV’s ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ Just Blew Up Its Entire Premise With Its Biggest Twist Yet
Garner and co-star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau tease what’s next after that ‘Last Thing He Told Me’ Episode 4 shocker.
With that said, while the Rotten Tomatoes scores might discourage viewers from tuning in, The Last Thing He Told Me is not only a worthwhile watch, but it’s a series that grips viewers with a mystery in Season 1, and keeps the intrigue going with heightened tensions in Season 2. Most of all, while the first season was entirely based on Dave’s novel, Season 2 expands the show beyond the source material, making it an installment with more creative liberties, giving their characters more depth, expertly changing up the genre, and highlighting the individual performances on the show more than ever.
- Release Date
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April 13, 2023
- Network
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Apple TV
- Showrunner
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Laura Dave, Josh Singer
- Directors
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Olivia Newman, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Lila Neugebauer
- Writers
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Josh Singer, Laura Dave, Jamie Rosengard, Isaac Gómez, Harris Danow, Allegra Caldera, Erica Tavera
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Jennifer Garner
Hannah Hall
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Angourie Rice
Bailey Michaels
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