How Many Episodes in Black Bird Season 1: Episode Guide

Black Bird season 1 has exactly six episodes. Apple TV+ released it as a limited series, so there is no second season and no extra episodes hiding anywhere. All six aired between July 8 and August 5, 2022, with the first two dropping together and then one new episode each Friday. TVmaze episode pages and Apple TV+ episode listings corroborate the per-episode air dates, Ep1 & Ep2 on Jul 8, 2022; Ep3 (Hand to Mouth) on Jul 15, 2022; Ep4 on Jul 22, 2022; Ep5 on Jul 29, 2022; Ep6 (You Promised) on Aug 5, 2022 TVmaze episode pages and episode listings (episode dates); Rotten Tomatoes episode pages and Apple episode pages corroborate individual air dates..

At a glance: season 1 episode count, platform, and release window

I will be upfront that this site is normally about feathers and flight mechanics, not TV schedules. But enough people land here searching for Black Bird episode counts that it felt worth writing a clean, factual answer. Here is everything you need in one place before we get into the details.

Complete episode guide: titles, runtimes, and release dates

The table below covers every episode in season 1, exactly as listed on Apple TV+, cross-checked against episode databases. Runtimes are approximate because streaming platforms sometimes vary slightly by region or device, but these are consistent with what Apple shows on the season page.

The total runtime across all six episodes lands somewhere around six hours of viewing, which is why critics often described it as a tight, contained story rather than a sprawling multi-season drama. Episode 5 is the shortest at around 54 minutes, and the finale runs just over an hour.

Where to watch Black Bird season 1 now

Black Bird is an Apple TV+ original, which means the only place to stream it legally is through the Apple TV app on Apple TV+. Apple TV+ operates in more than 100 countries and regions, so most readers outside the US can access it too. There is no version currently available on Netflix, Hulu, Max, or any other major platform. If you search on JustWatch for the US, Apple TV is the only streaming option listed. You can watch via the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV device, smart TVs, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and most modern gaming consoles. A subscription is required beyond any free trial period Apple may offer.

What the show is actually about

Black Bird is a psychological thriller adapted from James Keene's 2010 memoir, In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption, written with Hillel Levin. The script was written by Dennis Lehane, who is best known for Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone.

Apple's official synopsis puts it plainly: as Jimmy Keene begins a 10-year prison sentence, he receives an extraordinary offer. If he can get suspected serial killer Larry Hall to confess to his crimes while they share a facility, Jimmy will walk free. What sounds like a deal becomes the hardest thing Jimmy has ever done. The series is based on actual events, which gives the whole thing an uncomfortable weight. Reviews from outlets like RogerEbert.com and the Los Angeles Times praised it as one of the best limited series of 2022, highlighting its slow-burn tension and strong performances rather than flashy plot twists.

• Genre: psychological thriller, true crime, prison drama
• Tone: slow-burn, tense, character-driven rather than action-heavy
• Themes: manipulation, guilt, identity, the cost of a deal made under desperation
• Source material: a memoir based on a real FBI operation
• Screenplay: Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone)

Principal cast and characters

The performances are widely cited as the reason the show works as well as it does, especially Paul Walter Hauser's portrayal of Larry Hall. Notably, Ray Liotta appears in one of his final roles before his death in May 2022, just weeks before the series premiered. Principal cast and primary credits are listed on Apple's official press page: Black Bird, Cast & Crew, Apple TV Press (official cast list) Black Bird — Cast & Crew — Apple TV Press (official cast list).

Wait, is this about actual blackbirds? (A quick clarification)

I get why people end up here. This site covers bird anatomy and physiology, and 'Black Bird' is literally in the name of a popular TV show. So let me clear it up: the series title is two words, Black Bird, and it refers to the show's themes and tone, not to any actual species of blackbird. There are no ornithological connections in the plot.

That said, real blackbirds are genuinely fascinating animals worth knowing about. The term 'blackbird' actually covers two distinct groups. The Old World blackbird (Turdus merula) is a thrush in the family Turdidae, the same family as American robins. New World blackbirds, on the other hand, belong to the family Icteridae, which includes red-winged blackbirds, grackles, and cowbirds. They are not closely related to Old World blackbirds at all; they just ended up with similar common names because of their dark plumage. It is one of those quirks of common naming that drives ornithologists quietly nuts.

If you are curious about the biology behind actual birds, this site has detailed coverage of how birds are built and how they function. If you want a precise example, see our page on how many feathers does a small bird have for typical feather counts and what factors influence them. For a quick, direct answer to a common beginner question, see our short guide on how many wings does a bird have. For a concrete figure and species-by-species variation, see our guide on how many feathers does a bird have. A few places worth exploring: the structure and variety of feathers (there are several distinct feather types, each with a specific function), the surprisingly lightweight and efficient avian skeleton, the aerodynamic role of wings, and the unusual chromosome organization of birds (most species have a diploid number around 2n=80, packed with tiny microchromosomes that you would not find in mammals). If you want more detail on how many chromosomes a bird has, see our dedicated page explaining avian chromosome numbers, microchromosomes, and what 2n≈80 typically means how many chromosomes does a bird have. If you want to know how many types of feathers a bird has, see our page on feather types for a clear breakdown how many types of feathers does a bird have. If you want a direct answer to how many bones does a bird have, see our detailed page on avian skeleton bone counts and variation. These are genuinely interesting topics whether or not you came here looking for an episode count.

Avian reading worth exploring if you are curious

If you arrived here because of a bird-related search and want to go deeper into actual avian biology, here are the topics this site covers that are most relevant to the questions people tend to ask first.

• How many feathers does a bird have: the count varies dramatically by species and season, and the answer is more interesting than a single number suggests
• How many feathers does a small bird have: smaller species tend to have fewer feathers proportionally, but there are exceptions tied to insulation needs
• How many types of feathers does a bird have: contour feathers, down feathers, semiplume, filoplume, and bristle feathers all serve different biological roles
• How many bones does a bird have: the skeleton is highly modified for flight, with fused bones and air-filled cavities that reduce weight without sacrificing strength
• How many wings does a bird have: two is the obvious answer, but the anatomy of how those wings are structured is surprisingly complex
• How many chromosomes does a bird have: birds have a distinctive karyotype with both large macrochromosomes and large numbers of tiny microchromosomes

Any of those pages will give you a much more detailed answer than a quick web search. The site is built for exactly the kind of curious reader who starts with a simple question and wants a real biological explanation behind it, not just a number.