When ‘Cape Fear’ is Streaming on Apple TV & Full Release Schedule

35 years after Robert De Niro delivered a chilling portrait of vengeful criminal Max Cady, Oscar-winner Javier Bardem is taking on the role in Apple TV’s adaptation of Cape Fear. Of course, De Niro and Martin Scorsese’s version was a thrilling remake of the classic 1962 film starring Robert Mitchum. Bardem is the third actor to play the role of a terrifying convict seeking revenge against the lawyer who put him in jail.

With 10 episodes rolling out this summer, Apple TV’s Cape Fear promises to be a prestige project sure to earn a slew of award nominations by year’s end. The star-studded cast also includes Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, CCH Pounder, Ted Levine, and Ron Perlman. In the immortal words of De Niro’s Max Cady, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Here’s when and how to watch Cape Fear on Apple TV this summer.

When Does ‘Cape Fear’ Premiere on Apple TV?

Created by showrunner Nick Antosca (Brand New Cherry Flavor), Cape Fear is a small-screen retelling of John D. MacDonald’s novel The Executioners and the 1962 and 1991 movie adaptations directed by J. Lee Thompson and Martin Scorsese. The story follows Tom (Wilson) and Anna Bowden (Adams), two defense attorneys who represented a hardened killer named Max Cady (Bardem) 17 years earlier. Upon his release, the unhinged and hyper-violent Cady continues to blame Tom and Anna for his jail sentence and uses the legal expertise he’s gained to stalk, torment, and terrorize the couple and their family with relentless intensity, pushing legal boundaries.

Cape Fear will consist of 10 episodes. Besides Antosca writing the first episode and co-writing the finale, additional writing credits include Andre and Maria Jacquemetton (Mad Men), Alan Page Arriaga (True Detective), Peter Blake (Elementary), Brian Evenson (A Friend of the Family), Diana Pawell (Chucky), and newcomer Tara Shivkumar. Perhaps most encouraging is the fact that Martin Scorsese has lent his blessing to the project and serves as an executive producer, along with Steven Spielberg, who famously gave the 1991 film to Scorsese to direct in exchange for Schindler’s List.

With a prestigious above-and-below-the-line pedigree, Cape Fear will premiere on Apple TV on Friday, June 5, 2026.

‘Cape Fear’s Full Release Schedule, Explained

In addition to bolstering the writers’ room with accomplished scribes, Cape Fear boasts an eclectic slate of directors. Morten Tyldum (Imitation Game, Jack Ryan) directed the pilot episode, “Fingers & Toes.” Subsequent directors include S.J. Clarkson (Madame Web, Collateral), Amanda Marsalis (Ozark, The Pitt), Reed Morano (Vinyl, The Handmaid’s Tale), Steven Piet (Channel Zero, The Act), Trey Edward Shults (It Comes at Night, Winning Time), Jon S. Baird (Tetris, Stonehouse), and Stephen Williams (Fallout, Lanterns).

In keeping with Apple TV’s typical release schedule, the first two episodes of Cape Fear will be available to stream on Friday, June 5, 2026. After that, one new episode will be released weekly, every Friday. So, Cape Fear will stream from June 5 to July 31, 2026.

Although Cape Fear is designed as a miniseries that tells a standalone story in 10 episodes, you never know what can happen if the show proves to be a massive success for Apple. As we’ve seen with other shows originally conceived as a limited series, like Netflix’s Beef, that doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be a second season.

For a more complete guide to Cape Fear’s release schedule, refer to the chart below:

Cape Fear

Release Date

June 4, 2026

Network

Apple TV