It is a truth universally acknowledged that Billy Crystal is one of the funniest men in Hollywood. From When Harry Met Sally to Monsters, Inc., The Princess Bride to the actual Academy Awards, the man's got the comedic Midas Touch. But the City Slickers star is set to flex his dramatic chops as a grieving psychiatrist in Sarah Thorp's (The Bounty Hunter) limited Apple TV+ supernatural mystery series Before, which has just revealed a set of first look images ahead of its two-episode premiere on 25 October. Check them out below:
Written and created by Thorp, the 10-part series — whose pilot has been directed by Silo's Adam Bernstein — is described by Apple as "an atmospheric, character-driven psychological thriller." It's a description that tallies with the series' enigmatic official logline, which reads as follows: "Before stars Crystal as Eli, a child psychiatrist who, after recently losing his wife, Lynn (Judith Light), encounters a troubled young boy, Noah (Jacobi Jupe), who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli’s past. As Eli attempts to help Noah, their mysterious bond deepens." Also along for the mystery here alongside Crystal, Light, and Jupe (brother of Noah, which makes his character's name here all the more noodle-twisting) are Rosie Perez (White Men Can't Jump), Maria Dizzia (Martha Marcy May Marlene), and Ava Lalezarzadeh (Big Mouth).
Aside from the subdued palette of these first look images and Crystal's Eli sporting what looks like a bandaged hand in one shot, the rest of Before is currently, aptly, a mystery. But with a buzzy cast and crew behind the series (Oscar winning Killers Of The Flower Moon and Dune co-writer Eric Roth is among the show's executive producers), the promise of an opportunity to see Crystal add new strings to his legendary acting bow, and that lavish Apple TV production visibly in full effect here once again, Before sounds like it may yet be exactly what we're after.