Disclaimer warns audiences at the beginning to be wary of narratives and forms that distract from hidden truths. Written and directed by auteur Alfonso Cuarón, this AppleTV+ miniseries weaves together storylines to uncover the truth about what happened years ago between a young Catherine Ravenscroft (Leila George) and Jonathan Brigstocke (Louis Partridge), the deceased son of a grieving widow.

After the adult Catherine (Cate Blanchett) receives a copy of an independently published novel with the disclaimer: “Any resemblance to persons living or dead is not a coincidence,” the mystery begins to unravel before the audience.

With a heavy focus on form and structure, Disclaimer offers valuable lessons for screenwriters looking to hook audiences with a shocking mystery.

Kevin Kline and Lesley Manville in 'Disclaimer'

Disclaimer’s Clever Use of Narration

Narrators in film and TV are often met with skepticism. Many screenwriters worry that using a narrator will lead to over-reliance on exposition or undermine the story—after all, we’re always told to “show, not tell.”

However, Disclaimer is all about perspective and how it influences the audience’s attitudes toward its characters. By introducing two narrators, a departure from the source material’s single omniscient narrator, the series achieves something unique.

The narration shapes the audience’s expectations of its characters. Catherine’s story, largely narrated by Indira Varma, is presented in the second-person, describing everything as though being read back to her. This approach feels much like prose and serves a deliberate purpose: the series centers around a novel that reveals a dark secret from Catherine’s past, interpreting her actions as truth without nuance.

Meanwhile, Stephen’s narrative unfolds in first-person, showcasing his control over his actions as he embarks on his path of revenge. The power imbalance between Stephen’s perspective and Catherine’s is subtly embedded—Stephen’s confident, assured tone makes his actions appear justified, while Varma’s calm, detached delivery casts Catherine in a more negative light.

The narrators manipulate viewers’ perceptions of the characters, helping establish the story’s overall unreliability.

Cate Blanchett in 'Disclaimer'

Playing with Structure

Disclaimer’s structure is key to shaping how the audience perceives its story as it unfolds. Told across four distinct timelines, the series shows how actions in one timeline ripple through the others. Even without the full picture, the audience quickly understands the importance of this structure to the narrative.

Throughout its seven episodes, viewers are exposed to multiple perspectives: Stephen’s first-person narration, Catherine’s second-person narrative, insights from those around Catherine, and the content of the mysterious novel. It isn’t until the series’ conclusion that the audience realizes they’ve heard everyone’s account—except Catherine’s. This reveals that the narrators have been unreliable all along.

Unreliable narratives are notoriously challenging to write. Screenwriters must have a meticulous understanding of their story before crafting characters with biased perspectives influenced by the inciting incident. By omitting key information while maintaining consistency in character voices and actions, screenwriters challenge audiences to identify inconsistencies, question motives, and confront their own biases.

Cate Blanchett and Sacha Baron Cohen in 'Disclaimer'

Using Audience Expectations to Narrative Advantage

The beauty of a series driven by unreliable narrators is that it forces the audience to participate, piecing together the hidden truths. Cuarón makes no secret of this intent. In the first episode, real-life journalist Christiane Amanpour (playing herself) remarks on Catherine’s career as a documentarian, saying she has “cut through narratives and forms that distract us from hidden truths.”

The series manipulates audience perceptions masterfully. The second-person narration casts Catherine as culpable, detached from the unfolding narrative. Presented with only surface-level facts, viewers may assume she is evasive and fully aware of her actions.

But therein lies the brilliance: the omniscient narrator, neither Catherine nor an ally, skews the narrative, making it seem as though she is losing control of her life as a long-buried secret threatens to surface.

When the truth finally comes out in the finale, Catherine is given a voice to explain her side of the story. This moment holds a mirror to the audience’s judgment of her character, urging them to revisit the series with a more critical eye.

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Disclaimer invites audiences to engage deeply with its story, using innovative narration and interwoven timelines to challenge expectations. The series offers a valuable study of how form and structure can transcend storytelling tools to foster emotional and intellectual engagement.

When the truth is revealed, Disclaimer does more than resolve its central mystery—it redefines how stories can blur the line between fiction and reality.