{"id":45572,"date":"2024-02-09T09:01:38","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T08:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1987792"},"modified":"2024-02-09T11:12:38","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T10:12:38","slug":"constellation-review-noomi-rapaces-thriller-is-out-of-this-world","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/constellation-review-noomi-rapaces-thriller-is-out-of-this-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Constellation review: Noomi Rapace\u2019s thriller is out of this world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another win for Apple TV+. <\/p>

By Louise Griffin\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 09 February 2024 at 08:01 AM<\/p>

\n\n
<\/div> 4.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

It\u2019s difficult to describe Apple TV+\u2019s new series Constellation<\/a>, starring Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks.<\/p>\n

Part sci-fi, part space opera, part psychological thriller, part ghost story, it\u2019s in a box all on its own \u2013 but one thing\u2019s for sure, it\u2019s absolutely spectacular.<\/p>\n

Starring the incomparable Rapace as astronaut Jo, the series follows a traumatic mission into space and the aftermath, which sees our hero find her home very different to how she left it.<\/p>\n

Her husband Magnus, played by James D\u2019Arcy, doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s going on \u2013 and neither does her daughter Alice, played by newcomers Rosie and Davina Coleman. But, as Jo starts to make some kind of sense of her situation, the stranger it becomes.<\/p>\n

Created by former Doctor Who writer Peter Harness<\/a> and Michelle MacLaren (who picked up two Primetime Emmys for her work on Breaking Bad), Constellation will have viewers hooked from beginning to end as they try \u2013 and fail \u2013 to predict what will happen next in the twisty thriller.<\/p>\n

At times, it\u2019ll have you tearing out your hair in frustration for Jo. At others, it\u2019ll have your heart in your mouth.<\/p>\n

\"Jonathan\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Jonathan Banks as Henry in Constellation.<\/span><\/figcaption> Apple TV+<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The twists and turns are brilliant (and we\u2019re keeping completely quiet about the jaw-dropping ending), but it\u2019s how grounded the show is that sets it apart. It absolutely ran the risk of falling into the same traps that psychological thrillers often do \u2013 spending too much time on the surprising us that the characters are pretty much forgotten about. Not Constellation.<\/p>\n

At its heart, it\u2019s a character-driven story, and Rapace\u2019s chemistry with her co-stars always\u2026 brings it back to Earth (sorry). The show\u2019s dedication to Jo\u2019s role as a mother is particularly effective. Amid all the craziness, Jo and Alice are always the focal point and everything is always brought back to a simple story of a mother trying to find her way back to her daughter.<\/p>\n

Youngsters Rosie and Davina Coleman are perfectly cast as Alice, Jo\u2019s intelligent and terrified daughter who has no idea what\u2019s happened to her mum.<\/p>

Meanwhile, Breaking Bad star Banks plays former astronaut Henry Caldera \u2013 a character slightly separated from Jo\u2019s story \u2013 but he completely steals the show whenever he\u2019s on screen. We can\u2019t say too much about his story beyond an already intriguing first-look image (look closely \u2013 there\u2019s more to that scene than first meets the eye) but his performance as a whole is completely mesmerising.<\/p>\n

The supporting cast are just as brilliant and just as essential to the success of the series. William Catlett stars as Paul Lancaster, a teammate of Jo\u2019s, while Barbara Sukowa plays the mysterious\u00a0<\/span>Irene Lysenko \u2013 and they\u2019re just two of the standout supporting cast members.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this is not to say that Constellation is a completely flawless series \u2013 the pacing in the middle could definitely have been improved and it falls into the trap so many series do in the current TV landscape of favouring a slightly confusing cliffhanger over wrapping up the story a little more in the hopes of securing a second season.<\/p>\n

For this series, though, I can almost forgive it.<\/p>\n