Prime Target will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on January 22, 2025, with the first two episodes, followed by one episode weekly, every Wednesday through March 5, 2025.
Synopsis
The series features a brilliant young math postgraduate, Edward Brooks (played by Woodall), who is on the verge of a major breakthrough. If he succeeds in finding a pattern in prime numbers, he will hold the key to every computer in the world. Soon, he begins to realize an unseen enemy is trying to destroy his idea before it’s even born, which throws him into the orbit of Taylah Sanders, a female NSA agent (played by Swindell) who’s been tasked with watching and reporting on mathematicians’ behavior. Together, they start to unravel the troubling conspiracy Edward is at the heart of.
Review
I don’t know about you but I never really had a mind for maths. I can do the basics of course. But ask to calculate a tip off the top of my head and I’ll need a scientific calculator or an Excel spreadsheet with a series of complex formulae to pull it off. But in brand new Apple TV thriller Prime Target maths is the name of the game. The eight-episode series begins with two episodes this week before rolling out the rest of its season weekly.
The brainchild of award-winning Sherlock writer Steve Thompson, Prime Target casts Leo Woodall (White Lotus) as math prodigy and Cambridge research student Edward Brooks. Brooks work in prime numbers seems innocent at face value but strikes a mysterious fear in to the heart of his professor (David Morrissey, The Walking Dead). It seems that poor Ed has stumbled across a theory which has the capability to take down governments by unlocking every computer across the globe. It puts him in the crosshairs of powerful shadowy figures struggling to maintain the current world order.
Ed’s dedication to his research makes him the target of several key players at home and abroad. It places him at the centre of a race across the globe alongside NSA agent Taylah Sanders (Quintessa Swindell, Black Adam). Taylah too has found herself at the centre of a very tangled web after uncovering a plot to keep Ed’s maths a secret for all eternity. Together the two find themselves holding the key to a powerful and dangerous conundrum: just because you have the power to unlock all mankind’s secrets, should you use it?
Thompson has crafted a tightly packed thriller which feels worthy of the luscious Apple production value. The whole season has an interesting flavour mixing the best of US and UK sensibilities. The story itself feels British. It’s mostly set here, the characters are mostly British. With a British writer behind it that obviously brings with it a world of experience working in British TV. But the episodic structure and certain aspects of the pacing lend themselves to a more America style of television. The results of mixing the two may alienate some staunch fans of British thrillers. But those willing to give it a chance will find the story refreshing amongst a marketplace of cookie cutter stories.
These mysterious thrillers are always a tough nut to crack. On the one hand the audience needs a gripping central narrative. Something which teases more details with each episode, building huge cliffhangers in to each chapter. On the other had there has to be a predictability factor baked in to its DNA. A edge to the story which allows the audience to cook up wild theories. Pointing the figure at supporting characters. Seeing betrayal around every corner. Prime Target neatly manages to toe the line. Offering the crumbs of theories which may, or may not, come to fruition by the end of the season. There are pitfalls however. The classic Murder She Wrote sensibility of stunt casting shady characters does prove to be an issue in a couple of cases for Prime Target. But on the whole its auspiciously well written and casted.
Leo Woodall and Quintessa Swindell are a dynamic duo as series leads. Woodall shoulders the most of Thompson’s narrative as Ed. It’s through his experience that we uncover the mystery of prime numbers as well as exploring the potential impact. To make sure all of that lands with the audience, Woodall is tasked with balancing Ed’s voluminous intelligence alongside a naivety and an unwavering determination toward the consequences. Woodall embodies all of those qualities without Ed ever becoming caricature or two-dimensional. He’s not simply a math nerd. Nor is he necessarily the hero of the story. Prime Target revels in spending time in moral greys and Ed fits in there perfectly. Add to that his refreshingly pedestrian queer romantic subplot and you’ve got a pretty darn compelling lead.
Swindell’s Taylah has more of a difficult journey across the season. Though she is truly a co-lead in the series. Her characterisation does become somewhat malleable to the needs of the plot. That’s not an outright criticism of the writing. She’s still a compelling character with a suitably tragic backstory which affords her a satisfying emotional arc. The foundations of Taylah are more than solid. But as her character falls subject to several major plot twists there is a sense that Thompson’s story was searching for ways to keep her relevant beyond her NSA training. That being said Swindell, just like Woodall, proves that they are more than capable of handling the material.
The series has plenty of philosophical questions to ask and it does so in the opposing viewpoints of the two leads. Part of the reason why they work together so well is that they challenge each other consistently. This isn’t a series which is programmed to allow its characters time to sit still. They’re constantly on the move, constantly looking over their shoulders. So much of their relationship is built on trust in the moment and accordingly their back-and-forth is often rife with conflict.
The series overall production value perfectly fits the brand of story it’s trying to tell. Cinematographer Dan Atherton (Great Expectations) makes strong use of the series globe-trotting journey for some inspired visuals. Whilst elements of set design, particularly in Iraq, give the series a heightened sense of reality which compliments the more outlandish elements in the plot. It’s far more cerebral than it is physical, a likely drawback for some in the audience. But with the potential promise of more story to tell, Prime Target certainly does an admirable job at driving home its message on the human condition.
Verdict
Prime Target is a tightly written, arresting thriller. With a cool cast at its core, the series has fun mixing American and British storytelling sensibilities to create something fresh and exciting.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
