Sep 29, 2026 9:58pm IST
Poorna Jagannathan Reveals Character Details for ‘Nocturne’, Teases Stephen Graham’s Scary Turn in New Crime Drama Series (EXCLUSIVE)
For Poorna Jagannathan, 2026 has been a mixed bag. After two great seasons, Hulu cancelled her dark comedy series, “Deli Boys,” in August. In the same month, she was seen and appreciated for her turn as Zoe Macon on HBO’s DCU series, “Lanterns.” And come October, the “Never Have I Ever” actor will appear alongside Liev Schreiber, Zazie Beetz and Stephen Graham on Apple TV’s crime drama series, “Nocturne”.
In an exclusive chat with Variety India, the actress revealed details about her character as well as what to expect from the show.
“I'm playing an FBI agent. I know Priyanka Chopra has played one too before. But there's just not a lot of that representation. I'm playing the FBI agent who comes in and has to lead the whole team. And it’s a stacked cast, but it's one of the scariest series I've ever seen. You can't breathe while watching the series. It's so scary. Stephen Graham is so freaking scary in it!”
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The Apple TV original series created by Rowan Joffé is based on the novels “Lazarus” and “The Sandman” by husband-and-wife duo Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril, who write under the pen name Lars Keplar. The streamer dropped the first official trailer on September 29, and it offers several glimpses of Jagannathan trying to unravel the mind of Graham's incarcerated serial killer. Additional cast includes Bill Camp, Rory Culkin, Chrissy Metz, Gary Carr and Landon Valentin.
"Nocturne" is an interesting entry in Jagannathan’s list of credits, which includes characters that rarely cast actresses of color beyond a certain age. “That's another role that came my way and just felt like, ‘God, I don't see many Indian women playing this particular power position in this particular way, in this particular genre.’ I'm turning 54. So there’s this moment where I am like, ‘What am I doing here, or in a superhero universe like ‘Lanterns’?’ It’s not only a South Asian woman, but it's a woman in her 50s being a powerful presence in a show, which is rare: Being powerful, sexual, manipulative, and the center of the show.”
So, is there a character Hollywood has yet to offer Poorna Jagannathan? She feels her own imagination might limit what she could do next, and decides to throw it open to the universe. However, when asked about her return to Indian films, the “Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani” actor has an inkling of what might excite her and is waiting to be approached.
“Nothing is coming to me. There's not even a peep. I'm very, very open to coming back and doing an amazing script. But there really has been zero interest. I'm obsessed with “Delhi Crime”. Shefali and Rasika are so good in it. It's such a female-led show, complex, nuanced and detail-oriented. And they really aim big; the last season had some major themes. I would love to be a small part of a great show like that. It would just make my day.”
In the meantime, the actress is welcome to suggestions on what films and series she should watch next. “I loved Tatiana (Maslany) in ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’. I'm watching ‘Silo’ Season 3. It's terrific, with my friend Common on it, who just does an unbelievable job.
But I really, really want to watch ‘Widow's Bay’. I also recently finished watching ‘Wonder Man’, and I am in shock that it was canceled. Andrew Guest and I are texting each other, just in complete shock that both our series got canceled. I loved the writing on ‘Wonder Man' so much that he sent me some scripts to read. And I think that was a masterpiece,” she gushes. On the Indian front, she is sold on “Kohrra" Season 2 by this writer. “I’m going to watch it. I like Mona Singh,” says Jagannathan.
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