Gugu Mbatha-Raw Shines in Trailer for Apple TV+ Thriller 'Surface'

Gugu Mbatha-Raw in "Surface" (Photo: Apple TV+)

What if you woke up one day and didn't know your own secrets? That is the central dilemma in the upcoming Apple TV+ thriller Surface, a story about gaslighting, trust, suicide, and murder that wrestles with themes of free will and predestination. After all, who can you trust if you can't trust yourself?

The eight-episode series stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki) as Sophie, a young woman who has suffered a traumatic brain injury that has left her with extensive memory loss. It's believed that Sophie tried to commit suicide by jumping off a boat into the San Francisco Bay, but Sophie can't remember what happened and there are flashes of memories where her "accident" feels like anything but. As she tries to put the pieces of her life back together with the help of her husband and friends, she begins to question whether or not the truth she is told is in fact the truth she has lived. 

The moody, atmospheric trailer perfectly conveys the sense of unreality and mistrust that permeates this series, a clip that asks audiences to question everything from the truth of what they're seeing to who's telling the story we're watching unfold. 

Watch for yourselves below.

 

Mbatha-Raw is one of those buzzy actors that's likely to be very familiar to Anglophile audiences, but who has yet to have a truly breakout mainstream role. (Though she played Ravonna Renslayer in the Disney+ Marvel series Loki, her character wasn't given all that much to do.) But her excellent performances in properties as diverse as BelleThe Morning Show, and The Girl Before show the extent of her considerable range.

The ensemble cast of Surface includes such familiar faces as Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Wilderness), Stephan James (Homecoming), Ari Graynor (Mrs. America), Academy Award nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Broadchurch), François Arnaud (I Killed My Mother), and Millie Brady (Roadkill).

Created by Veronica West, the series comes from Apple TV+ and Reese Witherspoon's production company Hello Sunshine. (Intriguingly, Witherspoon and Mbatha-Raw were also co-stars on Apple TV+'s Emmy-nominated drama The Morning Show). Director Sam Miller (I May Destroy You) helms four episodes of the series including the pilot and also serves as executive producer. Kevin Sullivan, Jennifer Morrison, and Tucker Gates also directed episodes.

Surface will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 29, 2022 with the launch of its first three episodes, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday. 


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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