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Steven Spielberg's latest TV project 'Cape Fear' has received a mixed response from audiences, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 59% and some viewers praising Javier Bardem's performance and others criticizing the pacing and episodic structure.
Steven Spielberg's new show has earned a mixed audience response. Spielberg remains best known for directing classics like Jaws , Raiders of the Lost Ark , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , Jurassic Park , and Saving Private Ryan .
At 79 years old, Spielberg is still active in Hollywood and is now gearing up for the release of Disclosure Day on June 12. As a director, he continues to work mostly in movies, but as an executive producer, he is also very active in television. One of the filmmaker's anticipated TV projects is now streaming, but the response hasn't been unanimous.
Related 6 Best TV Shows Produced By Steven Spielberg, Ranked Steven Spielberg doesn't just direct movies; he's involved at every level of production in film and television, and here are his best TV shows. Posts 3 By Zach Moser After premiering on Apple TV on June 5, the Cape Fear TV show has now debuted on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences awarding a Popcornmeter score of only 59%.
This lackluster score only stems from 50+ ratings, meaning it's likely to fluctuate as more are added, but it currently falls behind the"certified fresh" critics' score of 79%. Spielberg serves as an executive producer on the psychological thriller show, which hails from creator Nick Antosca.
Adapting the events of The Executioners, a 1957 novel by John D. MacDonald, the show follows a happily married couple as a notorious killer from their past targets them after being released from prison. x Your browser does not support the video tag. The Executioners was previously adapted into films in 1962 and 1991, the latter of which was directed by Martin Scorsese, with Robert De Niro taking on the role of Max Cady, the ex-con.
In the Apple TV show, Javier Bardem plays Cady, with Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson playing Anna and Tom Bowden, the lawyers who represented him in court almost two decades earlier. Critics largely praise Antosca's take on the source material, with Bardem's devilish performance and some thrilling twists and turns serving as frequent points of praise. If there's one common complaint, it's that 10 episodes may be too many, with the story not justifying such a long runtime.
In ScreenRant's own Cape Fear review, critic Tatiana Hullender awards the series a score of seven out of 10, with Bardem's performance emerging as a highlight for her as well. Though Hullender praises some expansions on the source material involving Anna and Tom's children, she does cite pacing as one issue. Hullender writes: There are more twists connected to Natalie and Zack than I can count on one hand, but it doesn't feel trite or unearned.
Instead, it serves as a reminder that while Max may be the instigator of chaos for the Bowdens, their home was already fractured beyond what they even knew was possible. In fact, this metaphor is made literal thanks to the focus on their physical house, which is in a perpetual state of construction that leaves parts of it completely closed off and makes even a Georgia mansion feel claustrophobic.
Audience reviews vary on Rotten Tomatoes, but the word"slog" is used multiple times, with some seemingly agreeing that the episodic approach structure doesn't suit the story. Others compare it unfavorably to the previous films adaptations. Still others, however, give the series five-star reviews, praising Bardem's killer charisma, the direction, and the undercurrent of tension. It remains to be seen how the Cape Fear audience score will continue to evolve on Rotten Tomatoes, but this Spielberg project is evidently dividing viewers.
With the series not set to conclude until July 31, there's plenty of time for viewer sentiments to change. New episodes of Cape Fear release on Fridays on Apple TV.
Cape Fear 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Drama Crime Thriller Release Date June 4, 2026 Network Apple TV Showrunner Nick Antosca Cast Directors Amanda Marsalis, Morten Tyldum, Stephen Williams, Jon S. Baird, Jonathan van Tulleken, Reed Morano, S.J. Clarkson, Trey Edward Shults Writers Peter Blake, Alan Page Arriaga, Maria Jacquemetton Creator Nick Antosca Powered by Expand Collapse
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