Countdown to Martin Scorsese on Apple TV+: Release Date, Cast, and Plot Revealed

Apple is giving Martin Scorsese the full-on epic treatment, and honestly, it was only a matter of time. The five-part docuseries 'Mr. Scorsese' hits Apple TV+ worldwide on October 17, 2025, and it is exactly what you think it is: the definitive deep-dive on a filmmaker who has been redefining movies since he was sneaking into screenings as a kid.

The basics

'Mr. Scorsese' is a single-season, five-episode series directed by Rebecca Miller. Apple has already dropped an official trailer, with Scorsese talking about what keeps him creating, and the show promises a mix of new interviews, rare archival finds, and a front-row seat to the life and work of the guy behind 'Taxi Driver,' 'Goodfellas,' 'The Irishman,' and a few dozen other titles you’ve argued about with your friends.

What the series actually covers

This is not just a greatest-hits montage. The show starts at the beginning — Scorsese’s student films at New York University — and tracks him across decades, pairing behind-the-scenes footage and personal archives with extensive sit-downs. The angle is personal as much as professional: how his upbringing, health, faith, and obsessions shaped the movies, and how the movies kept shaping him right back.

"including the place of good and evil in the fundamental nature of humankind."

That line — from Apple’s official synopsis — is the mission statement here. Expect craft talk, yes, but also what has been driving Scorsese for six decades: morality, sin, redemption, violence, grace, and why he keeps chasing them from project to project.

Episode roadmap

According to The Nerdist, each chapter zeroes in on a distinct era. If you like a clean timeline, here you go:

• Stranger in a Strange Land: Childhood in New York as the son of Italian immigrants — the church, the neighborhood, and the movie houses that stamped his imagination.
• All This Filming Isnt Healthy: The 1970s breakout, the creative lockstep with Robert De Niro, and the personal costs that came with the rise.
• Saint/Sinner: A career wobble, the bruising comeback with 'Raging Bull,' a stumble with 'The King of Comedy,' and a reset that sends him back to smaller canvases and a long-gestating passion project.
• Total Cinema: International controversy collides with electric run-and-gun masterpieces — yes, think 'Goodfellas' — while the spotlight gets hotter.
• Method Director: The late period, leveled up by the Leonardo DiCaprio era, and Scorsese taking stock of the whole journey.

Who shows up

This thing is stacked. You’ve got Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Leonardo DiCaprio weighing in, along with Cate Blanchett, Margot Robbie, Sharon Stone, and Jodie Foster. Music legends Mick Jagger and Robbie Robertson pop up, and Steven Spielberg offers the peer perspective. Scorsese’s circle is here too: his wife, Helen Morris, and his children, plus friends and longtime collaborators.

About the director (and a fun bit of inside baseball)

Rebecca Miller is behind the camera — a strong filmmaker in her own right, with 'Personal Velocity' and 'Maggie’s Plan' on her resume. She’s also Arthur Miller’s daughter and married to Daniel Day-Lewis, who appears in the series. That’s a pretty uniquely placed vantage point for someone chronicling a titan whose work blends religion, art, and blood-and-bone realism.

Access, access, access

The hook here is access. Apple says the team had unrestricted run of Scorsese’s private archives. That means unseen footage, rare materials, and candid conversations you probably haven’t heard — including Scorsese talking not just about the films, but the anxieties and obsessions that powered them.

Bottom line

If you’re into film history, this is a five-night masterclass. If you’re just into great stories about how messy personal lives turn into indelible art, same deal. 'Mr. Scorsese' premieres globally on Apple TV+ on October 17, 2025.