X
- 2023
- Apple TV+
- 2023
- Apple TV+
- 2023
- Apple TV+
- 2023
- Apple TV+
The Changeling
1 Season
Season 1 Premiere: Sep 8, 2023
65
4.6
All Seasons
1 Season
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally favorable
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
65
50% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
44% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
6% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Generally favorable
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
65
50% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
44% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
6% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
It’s not too tough to get lost in the proverbial woods here, but even when we do, this show has established enough trust through competent storycraft that we catch up—and know it’s worth it. The Changeling’s secret weapon is its characterization, with each actor in this cast embodying their respective role so richly.
Thanks to a fine performance from Stanfield as well as a story that’s just starting to get spooky by the end of the first episode, The Changeling hooks in the viewer and gets them ready to follow Apollo on a journey that promises to be full of scares and surprises.
It’s another great showcase for LaKeith Stanfield, who can absolutely thrive as a leading man — but unless a second installment of The Changeling majorly focuses its lens, audiences might decide that some mysteries are better left unsolved.
The acting and direction are top notch, but convoluted plot and constant twists leave the viewer a little cold. Overall, The Changeling falls short of Apple TV's best, but there's plenty to like nonetheless.
Had The Changeling followed the source material more closely, cut the dead wood and sorted out its pacing at the end, we'd certainly be looking at yet another Apple TV+ hit.
“The Changeling” offers some of the most effective horror I’ve ever seen. The show’s casual, grounded, workaday realism augments the nightmare; the contrast between those registers, whenever they meet, is sharp. Totally arresting. But as the protagonists’ quests weaken their connection to that concrete world, the show’s stakes start to scatter, too, as if pulverized by too many competing symbolic operations.
From the moment “The Changeling” begins until the final scene, it feels as if the creators have no interest in explaining any of the details needed to give this story meaning. What should have been an enchanting horror fantasy gives way to a baffling jigsaw, teetering on the absurd. Some stories, with all of their strangeness and symbolism, are better left on the page.
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Production Company:
- Annapurna Television
- Apple Studios
- De La Revolución Films
- FX Productions
Initial Release Date: Sep 8, 2023
Number of seasons: 1 Season
