Black Bird (Apple TV+)
Dennis Lehane’s six-part drama is based on James Keene’s memoir In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption. Despite its true-crime trappings, the adaptation is never especially authentic or convincing on any factual level. It is, however, thoroughly unsettling and anchored by exceptional performances by Paul Walter Hauser, Taron Egerton and Ray Liotta, who collectively more than compensate for myriad flaws of structure and focus.
Our hero is Jimmy Keene (Egerton), a onetime high school football star turned drug dealer. After a bust that also yields illegal firearms, Jimmy is sentenced to 10 years in prison, much to the chagrin of his excop father (Liotta). Because he’s confident, hunky and a good listener, Jimmy gets an offer from…