The Veil | |
---|---|
Genre | Thriller |
Created by | Steven Knight |
Written by | Steven Knight |
Starring | |
Music by | Jon Opstad |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Producers |
|
Cinematography | Bonnie Elliott |
Editors |
|
Running time | 38–67 minutes |
Production companies |
|
Original release | |
Network | FX on Hulu |
Release | April 30 – May 28, 2024 |
The Veil is an American thriller television limited series written by Steven Knight, produced by FX Productions, and starring Elisabeth Moss and Yumna Marwan. The series premiered on FX on Hulu on April 30, 2024. [1]
A thriller series about a potentially deadly game of truth and lies as two women travel from Istanbul to Paris and London, with one of them possessing a secret that the other needs to expose. [2]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [6] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Camp" | Daina Reid | Steven Knight | April 30, 2024 | |
Adilah El Idrissi (Yumna Marwan), first seen at a refugee camp, faces imminent danger due to her alleged ties to ISIS. Imogen Salter (Elisabeth Moss), posing as an NGO worker, forms an unexpected alliance with Adilah, aiming to protect her from a mob seeking revenge. Meanwhile, suspicions arise about Imogen's true motives, leading to tension with her UNICRI contact, Guy (Dan Wyllie). As Imogen and Adilah embark on a perilous journey, their backgrounds and motivations come to light, revealing a complex web of personal and political intrigue. Adilah's identity is questioned by French intelligence, setting the stage for a high-stakes confrontation. | |||||
2 | "Crossing the Bridge" | Daina Reid | Steven Knight | April 30, 2024 | |
At the refugee camp on the Syrian–Turkish border, the U.S. military arrives looking for Adilah. In France, Adilah's daughter gets into some trouble with American intelligence agencies. Imogen and Adilah continue their journey to Istanbul, where Imogen abandons their car and subdues an armed pursuer. They seek help from a man (Haluk Bilginer) to obtain fake passports, while Max Peterson (Josh Charles) informs French intelligence of the Americans' moves. The French and American intelligence agencies are closely monitoring Imogen and Adilah's movements, unsure if Adilah is the real target or an ISIS commander using her identity as a cover. Imogen suspects Adilah may be the wanted terrorist Sabaine Al-Qubaisi. | |||||
3 | "The Asset" | Daina Reid | Steven Knight | May 7, 2024 | |
Imogen and Max are revealed to have a working relationship, collaborating to uncover information about her father's death. Meanwhile, Adilah's part of a larger terrorist plot is brought to light, involving the transport of radioactive material on a ship bound for the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Imogen and Adilah continue their cat-and-mouse game, with Adilah eventually gaining the upper hand on Imogen. She lets her go in return for Imogen's help in Adilah and her daughter's escape. In the episode, Imogen also meets with Malik Amar (Dali Benssalah), who warns her of being followed and traced by the other intelligence agencies, while being worried about her behavior with her alter egos. | |||||
4 | "Declassified" | Damon Thomas | Steven Knight | May 14, 2024 | |
5 | "Grandfather's House" | Damon Thomas | Steven Knight | May 21, 2024 | |
6 | "The Cottage" | Damon Thomas | Steven Knight | May 28, 2024 |
The project was announced in August 2022, and marks the fourth series Steven Knight has made with FX Productions. Knight also acts as executive producer. Elisabeth Moss is also executive producer via her Love & Squalor production company for whom Lindsey McManus is also an executive producer. Denise Di Novi and Nina Tassler of PatMa Productions also executive produce. [7] [8]
Elisabeth Moss was confirmed in the lead role in August 2022. [9] Moss has stated that developing an authentic British accent and practicing the action and stunt choreography to make her character believable was more challenging than any previous role. She started learning the accent several months before filming began. [10]
In February 2023, Josh Charles, Dali Benssalah, and Yumna Marwan joined the cast. [11] In March 2023, Haluk Bilginer was added to the cast. [12] The cast also includes Alec Secareanu, Thibault de Montalembert, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, James Purefoy, Joana Ribeiro, Phill Langhorne, Dan Wyllie, Aron von Andrian, and Dali Benssalah. [13]
Filming took place in Turkey, which wrapped in March 2023. Other filming locations include Paris and London. [14] Filming took place in Kent, England in May 2023, with locations including Canterbury Cathedral. [15] Whilst filming a stunt in Istanbul, Moss fractured a vertebra in her spine. [16]
The series was shown on Hulu in the United States, premiering on April 30, 2024, with a two episode premiere, [1] [17] Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ under the Star banner internationally. [18] The show will reportedly consist of six episodes, concluding on May 28, 2024, with episodes being released weekly. [19]
JustWatch, a guide to streaming content with access to data from more than 20 million users around the world, estimated that The Veil was the third most-streamed series in the U.S. from April 29 to May 5. [20] The streaming aggregator Reelgood, which tracks 20 million monthly viewing decisions across all streaming platforms in the U.S., calculated that The Veil was the ninth most-streamed show in the U.S. for the week ending May 29. [21] [22]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 54% approval rating with an average rating of 5.7/10, based on 35 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Elisabeth Moss' dramatic power remains undiminished with another arresting performance, but The Veil's clunky storytelling doesn't live up to its star's chops." [23] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 52 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [24]
Aramide Tinubu of Variety praised the series as 'gripping', commending Moss' performance, the action and the pacing. [25] Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times said 'As a spy story, it’s a decent example of its kind, but as a dramatic two-hander, fueled by subtle performances from Moss and Marwan, it’s pretty terrific.' [26] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone was more mild in his praise, also praising Moss and the action sequences but questioning the balance between spy thriller and psychological drama. [27] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter complimented the opening and Moss, but felt that ' The Veil first becomes perfunctory — Homeland-lite — before fizzling entirely in its concluding episodes, in which almost none of its twisty reveals hits deeply on either a plot or character level.' [28] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian awarded the first episode one star out of five, dubbing it 'a bafflingly bad time-waster' and criticizing the plot and acting. [29] Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club was also harsh, dubbing the series 'boring and aimless'. [30]
Hulu is an American subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company.
Elisabeth Singleton Moss is an American actor and producer. The recipient of several accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a nomination for a Tony Award, she was named "Queen of Peak TV" by Vulture in 2017.
Nihat Haluk Bilginer is a Turkish actor. For his role in Şahsiyet (2018), Bilginer won the Best Actor award at the 47th International Emmy Awards. His film Kış Uykusu won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera EastEnders during the 1980s. He has also starred in Hollywood movies as a character actor, including Halloween (2018). He often plays villains and unsympathetic characters.
FX Networks, LLC, commonly known as FX Networks, is an American media company built around the FX television channel and its associated production company, FX Productions, and is a subsidiary of Disney General Entertainment Content, the television division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of News Corporation and later 21st Century Fox, the company was included in the acquisition of the latter by Disney on March 20, 2019. Consequently, FX Networks was integrated with the other television production and broadcasting assets that form the Disney General Entertainment Content unit in 2021.
Universal Content Productions LLC (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast.
"Offred" is the series premiere of the American television drama series The Handmaid's Tale. It was directed by Reed Morano, and written by Bruce Miller, adapting material from the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel The Handmaid's Tale. The episode debuted on the streaming service Hulu on April 26, 2017.
FX Productions, LLC (FXP) is an American television and in-house production company owned by FX Networks, a division of the Disney Entertainment unit of The Walt Disney Company. It was also known in copyright as Bluebush Productions from 2007 to 2017. The studio currently produces series for FX, FXX and FX on Hulu. In the past, FXP also produced series for Amazon Prime Video, Epix, Fox, and TBS, but the studio has since returned its sole focus to the FX channels.
The Old Man is an American drama thriller television series based on the 2017 novel The Old Man by Thomas Perry. It was developed by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine and premiered on FX on June 16, 2022. The first season consisted of seven episodes. Following its premiere, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 12, 2024. In December 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons.
Emma Jill Appleton is an English actress and model. She starred in the Channel 4 spy thriller Traitors (2019) and the BBC adaptation of Everything I Know About Love (2022). Her films include LOLA (2022). She also appeared in the BBC Three thriller Clique (2017), the Netflix fantasy series The Witcher (2019), and the Hulu miniseries Pistol (2022).
Louis Patrick James Partridge is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor, and had minor roles in the fantasy films Pan (2015) and Paddington 2 (2017). He portrayed Piero de' Medici in the historical drama series Medici (2019), and had his breakthrough with the Netflix mystery film Enola Holmes (2020) and its 2022 sequel. Patridge has since portrayed Sid Vicious in the FX miniseries Pistol (2022) and starred in Alfonso Cuarón's thriller series Disclaimer (2024).
Under the Banner of Heaven is an American true crime drama television miniseries created by Dustin Lance Black, based on the 2003 non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer about the case of brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty who killed their sister-in-law and young daughter in 1984. The series premiered on April 28, 2022, on FX on Hulu. Andrew Garfield and Gil Birmingham star as two detectives investigating a brutal murder and its connections to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the LDS Church or informally as Mormons.
Candy is an American biographical crime drama television miniseries created by Nick Antosca and Robin Veith. The series stars Jessica Biel as the real-life Candy Montgomery, who was accused of the axe murder of her neighbor, Betty Gore in 1980, in Texas. It premiered on May 9, 2022, on Hulu, with a new episode for five nights until May 13. The miniseries received generally positive reviews from critics. It was nominated for Outstanding Main Title Design at the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
Class of '09 is an American drama thriller television miniseries created by Tom Rob Smith. The show premiered on FX on Hulu on May 10, 2023.
Great Expectations is a historical drama television miniseries developed by Steven Knight, based on the 1861 novel by Charles Dickens. It premiered on BBC One on 26 March 2023, followed by its US premiere on FX on Hulu later the same day.
The Bear is an American psychological comedy-drama television series created by Christopher Storer for FX on Hulu. Jeremy Allen White stars as Carmy Berzatto, an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage the chaotic kitchen at his deceased brother's Italian beef sandwich shop. The supporting cast includes Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, and Matty Matheson.
The Patient is an American psychological thriller limited series created and written by Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers Chris Long, Caroline Moore, Victor Hsu, and Steve Carell. The series stars Carell alongside Domhnall Gleeson and Linda Emond in lead roles. It premiered on August 30, 2022, on FX on Hulu and concluded on October 25, 2022, after a ten-episode run.
A Murder at the End of the World is an American psychological mystery thriller television miniseries created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij for FX on Hulu. It stars Emma Corrin as an amateur detective who attempts to solve a murder at an isolated Arctic retreat in Iceland. The supporting cast includes Brit Marling, Clive Owen, and Harris Dickinson.
Yumna Marwan is a Lebanese-Palestinian television and film actress.