The TV show adaptation of Blake Crouch's sci-fi novel Dark Matter is coming very soon -- like, less than a month away at this point! -- and one of the best streaming services is bringing the story to the screen, so if you have (or plan to get) an Apple TV+ subscription, start getting excited. At this point, we know just about everything we should want to know about a TV series before it comes out, including the newly released trailer for the adaptation, so let’s get into it.
What Is The Dark Matter Premiere Date?
Dark Matter will debut on Apple TV+ on Wednesday May 8, 2024, so those of us who were hopeful to see it show up on the 2024 TV premiere schedule are getting our wish!
Apple TV+'s announcement said that the first two episodes of the series will debut on May 8, after which one episode will stream each week (on Wednesday) through June 26.
Watch The Dark Matter Trailer
Here’s the thing – The Dark Matter trailer looks pretty fantastic to me, as a fan of the book. So much so that I watched it twice in a row and I have things to say about it. But before we get to that, if you haven’t read the book and want to go into this new TV series without knowing much about the mysterious circumstances happening to Joel Edgerton’s character, Jason, I suggest you skip the trailer (and the text that immediately follows) and move right on to the About The Book section. "About the Book..." and the sections after all avoid major book spoilers for those who wish to watch the mystery unfold as it does for the main character.
Dark Matter book spoilers start here...
I can see why the trailer would want to give away the truth about what’s happening to Jason. It’s such a cool concept for a TV show, and the reveal that unfolds throughout the trailer obviously provides a bit more context to the scenes glimpsed throughout – whether it’s Jason and Amanda on the move and using the box, or Jennifer Connelly’s character fearfully trying to figure out what’s going on with her husband.
The trailer gives away the fact that Jason is thrown into a situation that involves alternate realities, and he’s determined to get back to his family. What I love about the preview is that it sets up what’s happening to Jason, and also gives us some exciting glimpses of the perils Jason and Amanda are facing. Based on what we glimpse (running crumbling buildings, trudging through waist-high snow, staring at the inside of the box), the effects look very cool. I’m also digging the sort of tinted aesthetic to some of the scenes.
...end of book spoilers!
About The Book That Dark Matter Is Based On
One of the great things about Blake Crouch’s 2016 novel Dark Matter is that it’s a sci-fi story and a bit of a mystery thriller as well. It starts with our main character, physicist/husband/father Jason Dessen, being abducted, drugged and dropped into surroundings that are both familiar and unfamiliar all at once. Much of the first half of the book is about Jason trying to figure out exactly what’s happening. Based on the trailer (no spoilers here, I promise!), I’m wondering if the answer to that mystery will be revealed sooner in the story.
If you’re looking to read the book before the TV show comes out, I highly recommend it. It’s a real page-turner.
The Dark Matter Apple TV+ Show Will Have Nine Episodes
Apple TV+'s February 2024 update on the series confirms that there will be nine episodes. As mentioned, the first two will premiere on May 8, after which one episode will premiere each Wednesday through June.
The Dark Matter Cast Includes Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly And More…
Included in Apple TV+’s original announcement about the series was the news that Joel Edgerton was signed on to play the lead character, Jason Dessen. Since then, numerous other cast members have been announced. Here’s who’s playing who…
Playing Jason Dessen: Joel Edgerton
Joel Edgerton was announced to play Jason Dessen at the same time that the series order was announced. In addition to being a husband and father, Jason Dessen is a physicist and professor.
Joel Edgerton reprised his role as Owen Lars in the Star Wars universe for Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. In addition to Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Edgerton’s movie credits include Zero Dark Thirty, The Gift, It Comes At Night, The Great Gatsby, and Warrior. He was also among The Green Knight cast, and even more recently, was among the stars in George Clooney’s movie The Boys in the Boat.
Playing Daniela: Jennifer Connelly
Iconic actress Jennifer Connelly plays the role of Daniela, Jason’s wife in the story. She’s one of two people that Jason is determined to get back to after his life is turned upside down. While Connelly is well known for her feature work — Labyrinth, Requiem for a Dream, A Beautiful Mind, and Top Gun: Maverick among her big screen credits — she does have some TV credits to her name, most recently, the TV series Snowpiercer.
Playing Charlie: Oakes Fegley
The other person Jason’s trying to get back to is Charlie (Oakes Fegley), his son with Daniela. Fegley has been building an impressive acting resume over the course of nearly a decade, including playing Pete in the 2016 version of Pete’s Dragon, Young Theo Decker in the movie adaptation of The Goldfinch, he starred opposite Robert De Niro in the comedy The War with Grandpa, and he appeared in the recent Steven Spielberg film, The Fabelmans.
Playing Leighton: Dayo Okeniyi
Per Deadline, the role of Leighton, “an executive for a high-tech laboratory,” will be played by Dayo Okeniyi. By the character name and description, it’s surely fair to assume this is Leighton Vance from the book. Okeniyi is no stranger to streaming projects, as he starred in the Disney+ film Rise, playing Charles Antetokounmpo. He’s also no stranger to Apple TV+, as the actor appeared in See, playing Oloman for numerous episodes.
Playing Amanda: Alice Braga
In September 2022, Variety reported that Alice Braga and Jimmi Simpson had been cast. Braga (Queen of the South, I Am Legend, The Suicide Squad) will be playing the role of Amanda, a psychiatrist. Based on the trailer, and from what we know of her in the book, it looks like we should expect to see a lot of Amanda in the series, as she plays a pretty significant role in Jason’s efforts to get home. Among her recent credits, Braga appeared in the FX/Hulu miniseries A Murder at the End of the World.
Playing Ryan: Jimmi Simpson
Meanwhile, Jimmi Simpson (Westworld, Star Trek: Prodigy), will play Ryan. This is presumably Ryan Holder from the book, as Variety describes him as “a brilliant neuroscientist and friend of Jason’s.” If the series follows the book for his introduction, it seems likely we’ll see Simpson’s character early on, as Jason and his wife meet up with him at the start of the novel. Simpson’s recent credits include voicing the role of Dr. Royce Hemlock in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and reprising his role as Liam McPoyle in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Playing Blair: Amanda Brugel
Fans of The Handmaid's Tale will likely recognize Amanda Brugel for her role as Rita in the Hulu series. In Dark Matter, she'll play the role of Daniela's best friend and "a total badass," Blair. Blake Crouch mentioned in the casting announcement on his Instagram in December 2022 that Blair is the first character written specifically for the show (she does not appear in the book). While she’s well known for her role in The Handmaid’s Tale, Amanda Brugel’s recent credits include a part in the unsettling movie Infinity Pool.
That about covers what we know about the main cast, but from what he commented on Instagram (in the post about production wrapping), it sounds like we can expect to see author Blake Crouch pop up in a cameo at some point. When asked in the comments if he had a little cameo in the series, Crouch responded, "I do!
Dark Matter Season 1 Production Wrapped In April 2023
Author Blake Crouch is not only penning the pilot episode of this upcoming new series, but the writer will also serve as showrunner. Matt Tolmach and David Manpearl are set to executive produce.
Fortunately for us, the book’s author and series showrunner was generous in sharing updates on the status of the series and Season 1’s production, which – according to Crouch’s Instagram post wrapped up filming in late April 2023.
Crouch shared the announcement of the Dark Matter Apple TV+ series in March 2022. Then, in early April 2022, he shared an Instagram post of a Chicago coffee shop called Dark Matter Coffee. In the caption, he mentioned that he was scouting for the show in Chicago when he came across the coffee shop (the location of which was not actually part of the show scouting). At that point, it seemed like the plan was for at least some (if not all) of the series to be filmed in Chicago, which should suit the story’s Windy City setting nicely.
Sure enough, at the end of September 2022, Blake Crouch shared this photo from Chicago, showing the script for the series, along with news that the show had begun principal photography:
Jakob Verbruggen Directed The First Three Episodes
When Apple TV+ announced plans for Dark Matter, the news included word that Louis Leterrier would be directing the first four episodes. However, that apparently changed. Not only can Jakob Verbruggen’s name be seen as being credited as the director on the script Blake Crouch shared in this Instagram post, but Deadline and Variety’s casting news (linked above) note that Jakob Verbruggen is set to direct the first three episodes.
Jakob Verbruggen has plenty of experience as a TV director in sci-fi. His directing credits include an episode of Black Mirror and the rebooted anthology series, The Twilight Zone, as well as episodes of Apple TV+’s Invasion. His other directing credits include The Fall, House of Cards, and The Alienist.
Apple TV+ also lists Logan George, Alik Sakharov, Celine Held, and Roxann Dawson among the directors of Season 1.
Dark Matter Was Originally Supposed To Be A Movie
Once upon a time, Dark Matter was headed to the big screen. In fact, in 2014, Deadline reported that Sony had acquired the rights to the novel, which wouldn’t actually hit shelves until July of 2016. Alas, the adaptation never came to pass. But I’m not especially disappointed in that. As great as it would be to see a Blake Crouch book made into a movie, Dark Matter’s plot gets pretty complicated, to say the least. Nine episodes will hopefully be enough time to provide a good adaptation of Crouch’s novel without having to rush through anything. And based on the trailer, it looks like we’re in for something really exciting with this one.
While we wait for this series, if you’ve already read Dark Matter and are looking for another great book, I recommend checking out Blake Crouch’s Recursion — the novel is not connected to Dark Matter, but like the previously published book, it also offers thrills, suspense, a bit of mystery and plenty of sci-fi twists along the way (pick it up on Amazon). More recently, Crouch wrote Upgrade, which debuted in 2022 and can be found on Amazon and other places where books are sold.
