You’ve seen the posters. The ones where Cate Blanchett looks like she’s about to either have a nervous breakdown or commit a felony—possibly both. If you haven’t started Disclaimer, the new series on Apple TV+, honestly, what are you even doing? It’s easily the most polarizing thing on TV right now. Directed by the legendary Alfonso Cuarón, it’s basically a seven-hour movie that refuses to let you look away.
It's heavy. It’s gorgeous. It’s kinda mean.
People are fighting over it in group chats and Reddit threads like it’s a blood sport. Some call it a masterpiece of prestige television, while others think it’s a turgid, slow-moving disaster. But here’s the thing: you cannot ignore it. Whether you love the "cinematic" pacing or want to throw your remote at the screen because of the second-person narration, Cate Blanchett’s new series is the only thing worth talking about this season.
What Is Disclaimer Actually About?
Basically, Blanchett plays Catherine Ravenscroft. She’s a big-shot documentary journalist who has made a career out of exposing people’s darkest secrets. Irony, right? One day, a mysterious book called The Perfect Stranger shows up on her bedside table. She starts reading and—surprise!—the main character is her. And this book knows about the one thing she thought she buried twenty years ago on a beach in Italy.
It’s a classic "chickens coming home to roost" scenario, but filmed like a fever dream.
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The Perspective Shift
Cuarón doesn't just tell you the story. He manipulates you. The show uses three different types of narration:
- First Person: Stephen (Kevin Kline), the grieving, vengeful widower who wrote the book.
- Second Person: A detached voice (Indira Varma) talking directly to Catherine, which feels weirdly accusatory.
- Third Person: The "objective" reality of the present day.
This isn't just a stylistic choice. It’s a trap. By the time you get to the finale, you realize that half of what you saw in the early episodes—those steamy, sun-drenched flashbacks to Italy—might be total lies. It forces you to ask: who do I actually believe?
Why This Role Is Different from Tár
A lot of critics are lazy. They see Cate Blanchett playing a powerful, chilly woman in a high-stakes profession and immediately go, "Oh, it’s Lydia Tár 2.0."
Wrong.
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Lydia Tár was a predator in total control until the very end. Catherine Ravenscroft is a victim of her own past who is visibly vibrating with terror from episode one. Watching Blanchett unspool is a completely different experience. In Tár, she was the conductor; in Disclaimer, she’s the one being played.
The supporting cast is also doing some heavy lifting here. Kevin Kline is playing a version of a "villain" that feels dangerously human. He’s not a mustache-twirling bad guy; he’s a lonely, broken man who thinks he’s the hero of a justice story. Then you have Sacha Baron Cohen as Catherine’s husband, Robert. Honestly? He’s playing a bit of a wet blanket, but he sells the confusion of a man who realizes he doesn't actually know the woman he's shared a bed with for decades.
Is It Too Slow?
Look, let’s be real. If you’re used to TikTok-speed storytelling, this show might drive you crazy.
Cuarón loves a long take. He loves watching a cat walk across a room for thirty seconds. He loves the way light hits a marble countertop. It’s "Prestige TV" with a capital P. Some people call this "art." Others call it "bloat."
I’ll say this: the mid-season episodes definitely feel like they’re stretching a two-hour movie plot into a seven-part marathon. But the payoff in the final two chapters? It’s a knockout. The show addresses some really uncomfortable themes about "cancel culture" and how we’re all way too quick to believe a juicy story if it’s told well.
The Weirdest Parts Most People Miss
- The Narration: Having a voice say "You walk to the window" while you see Cate Blanchett literally walking to a window is an intentional choice to make you feel like she’s a character in someone else’s play.
- The Lighting: Notice how the Italy flashbacks look like a perfume commercial? That’s because they’re based on the book Stephen wrote—it's a "narrative," not the truth.
- The Cat: There is a gray cat in the Ravenscroft house that genuinely deserves an Emmy. It sees everything and judges everyone.
Beyond Disclaimer: What’s Next for Cate?
If you finish the series and find yourself in a Blanchett-shaped hole, don't worry. She isn't slowing down. 2026 is shaping up to be massive for her.
She just signed on to jump from the animated world to live-action in How to Train Your Dragon 2. She’s reprising her role as Valka, the dragon-whispering mom. It sounds like a total 180 from the dark, psychological trauma of Disclaimer, which is probably exactly what she needs after spending months crying in a marble kitchen.
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She also has a sci-fi comedy called Alpha Gang coming up, where she plays an alien invader. Between dragons, aliens, and secret-bearing journalists, she’s basically covering every possible genre.
How to Watch It Right
Don’t binge this in the background while you’re folding laundry. You’ll miss the subtle shifts in who is telling the story.
- Watch the credits: The music by Finneas (yes, Billie Eilish’s brother) is haunting and actually changes the mood of the scenes.
- Question the flashbacks: Every time you see young Catherine (played by Leila George), remember that you might be looking at a version of events written by someone who hates her.
- Prepare for the "Twist": It isn't a "shyamalan" twist where everything was a dream. It’s a perspective twist that makes you feel bad for judging the characters so early.
Cate Blanchett’s new series is a reminder that we are all unreliable narrators of our own lives. We edit out the ugly parts and filter the memories until they look like a movie. Disclaimer just happens to be the movie that shows us the raw footage we tried to delete.
Check it out on Apple TV+ before someone spoils the ending for you—it’s one of those finales that stays in your head for weeks.
Your Next Steps:
To fully appreciate the layers of the show, watch the first episode again after you finish the finale. You’ll notice that the very first lines of dialogue—delivered by Christiane Amanpour about the "power of narrative"—basically tell you exactly how the show is going to trick you. If you're looking for more of Blanchett's 2026 slate, keep an eye out for the first trailers for How to Train Your Dragon 2, which are expected to drop later this year.