Harry Potter director Alfonso Cuarón lines up Caitríona Balfe to front new horror TV series
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’s director is turning to TV horror — and he’s lined up a familiar face to lead it.
Here's one for anyone who reckons there aren't enough cults, cult-like groups, or just full-on eerie goings-on in modern telly: Caitríona Balfe is stepping into the lead for Ascension, a brand new horror series on Apple TV with none other than Alfonso Cuarón in the director's chair. Yes, the same Cuarón who gave the wizarding world its darkest edge with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Ascension is adapted from Adam Nevill's novel, Last Days.
There and Back Again: A Long Road for Ascension
What's especially curious here is just how long this project has been rattling around the industry. Ascension first hit the rumour mill way back in 2017—remember 2017? When Apple TV wasn't even much of a thing yet? Initially, the whole series was meant to showcase Casey Affleck as the lead. Somewhere along the way, plans changed, and now it's Balfe steering the ship. Probably for the best, really, given the general air of unease Casey Affleck brings with him.
What's It Actually About?
The elevator pitch is this: Balfe plays Rose, a recently divorced documentary filmmaker with a knack for digging up other people's secrets, though predictably, she can't get her own life untangled. She starts filming a piece on a shadowy 20th-century cult called the Church of Ascension. What begins as a straightforward bit of investigative journalism soon turns into something far stranger and, let's be honest, probably much more harrowing. Apple labels it a horror-thriller, which, knowing Cuarón, means it won't just be jump scares and fake blood.
- Title: Ascension
- Leads: Caitríona Balfe (originally was Casey Affleck)
- Source: Last Days by Adam Nevill
- Director: Alfonso Cuarón
- Platform: Apple TV
- Announced: First surfaced in 2017
Cuarón: Still Collecting Accolades
For those keeping count, Cuarón is far from a one-trick pony. Sure, most know him from his time at Hogwarts, but he's pulled off quite the Oscar haul over the years: eleven nominations, four wins. That includes taking home Best Director and Best Editing for Gravity in 2014, then Best Director and Best Cinematography for Roma in 2019. He's even had a screenplay nomination for Y tu mamá también, which he co-wrote with his brother Carlos. The man's CV is frankly ridiculous.
This isn't his first time partnering with Apple TV, either. Back in 2024, he created, wrote, and directed Disclaimer—another miniseries, this one featuring the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen and Cate Blanchett among others. Apparently Apple trusts him with just about anything these days.