If you’ve seen casting calls floating around for a series called “Alligator” over the past few weeks, here’s what’s actually going on. “Alligator” is the working title for Guilty Creatures, an eight-part true-crime thriller for Apple TV starring Julia Garner and Lewis Pullman. Pre-production got underway in Atlanta on September 21, 2026, cameras have been rolling since late September, and the shoot is expected to continue through the winter.
And once you know the real story the show is based on, the code name makes perfect sense.
The True Story
Guilty Creatures is adapted from Mikita Brottman‘s 2024 book Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida, which digs into the December 2000 disappearance of Mike Williams in the Florida panhandle. Williams, a 31-year-old real estate appraiser, vanished on a duck hunting trip on Lake Seminole, and for years the accepted explanation was that he had drowned and been eaten by alligators. He hadn’t. The truth — involving his wife, his best friend, a church community, a life insurance payout, and a secret kept for the better part of two decades — eventually came out in one of the strangest and most widely covered cases in Florida history. (We’ll leave the rest for the show.)
Apple’s official description says the series delves into a torrid romance and the murder that follows between two young, adulterous but God-fearing lovers, and the toll of living as killers for 18 years. It’s being pitched less as a whodunit and more as a psychological character study — and with this cast, that tracks.
The Cast
Julia Garner stars and executive produces through her Alma Margo banner. Garner is a three-time Emmy winner for her work as Ruth Langmore on Ozark, earned a Golden Globe for Inventing Anna, and had a huge 2025 with Zach Cregger’s horror hit Weapons and her turn as the Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. She has a rare talent for playing people who are doing terrible things while making you understand exactly why — which is the whole assignment here.
Lewis Pullman stars opposite Garner. Pullman is coming off an Emmy nomination and has been everywhere lately — Bob in Thunderbolts*, Bob Reynolds in Top Gun: Maverick, and Apple’s Lessons in Chemistry and Remarkably Bright Creatures. This is his return to Apple TV, and his second “Creatures” title in a row, which somebody at Apple surely noticed.
Additional cast hasn’t been announced yet. Given the real story, expect a sizable supporting roster — there’s a church community, a family, investigators, and attorneys to fill.
The Creative Team
Craig Gillespie directs and executive produces through his Fortunate Jack Productions. Gillespie is the director of I, Tonya, Cruella, Dumb Money, and Hulu’s Pam & Tommy — and most recently Supergirl for DC Studios and Apple’s Your Friends & Neighbors. He has built a career on true stories about complicated, deeply flawed people, so a Southern church-couple murder story is right in his wheelhouse.
Sarah DeLappe — the playwright behind The Wolves and screenwriter of Bodies Bodies Bodies — is adapting the book. Stuart Zicherman (American Sports Story, The Shrink Next Door) is showrunner. Tomorrow Studios — the ITV Studios partner behind One Piece, Snowpiercer, and Physical — is producing. Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, and Alissa Bachner executive produce for Tomorrow, with Annie Marter for Fortunate Jack and Brottman herself also on the EP list.
Where It's Filming in Georgia
Atlanta is the home base, and the production has been moving around the metro area doubling for Tallahassee and the Florida panhandle. Based on background casting calls that have gone out so far, the production has filmed or is filming:
- A college campus setting in Morrow — students, alumni, administrators, and professors were sought for scenes on September 28 and 29
- A law firm office in Stone Mountain
- A diner in Marietta
- A state capitol setting in Atlanta — with calls for capitol visitors, tourists, staff, and security, which almost certainly means the Georgia State Capitol standing in for Florida’s
- A 1990s rock concert scene, filmed October 5
- A biker bar scene, filmed October 9 — with a call for owners of 1990s and early-2000s cars and motorcycles
- 1997 Spring Break beach scenes — currently casting
The period details line up neatly with the real timeline, which stretches from the late 1990s through the 2010s.
And if you’re trying to figure out whether a crew you’ve driven past is this one, check the yellow directional signs: Guilty Creatures is using the production code 1975.
Want to Be a Background Extra?
Hylton Casting is handling background for “Alligator.” Recent calls have been open to all genders and ethnicities, ages 18 and up, at a rate of $168 for 12 hours, and the production has also sought minors of various ages and people with period-appropriate vehicles. With filming running through the winter, there should be plenty more opportunities. Register on Hylton’s site and keep an eye on their social pages.
When Can We See It?
No premiere date has been announced. With production wrapping in early 2027 and post to follow, a late 2027 debut on Apple TV seems the most likely window. We’ll keep you posted.
