Apple’s next true-crime podcast, “Heart,” arrives on Apple Podcasts on October 19, 2026, hosted by “My Favorite Murder” co-host Karen Kilgariff. Apple TV announced the eight-episode Apple Original Podcast with a trailer on October 12 and says Apple TV subscribers can hear every episode on launch day.
The series comes from Plan B, the production company led by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, together with the British audio studio Blanchard House.
The story behind Heart
“Heart” centers on two men linked by a single heart. According to Apple, when Sonny Graham receives a lifesaving heart transplant, he falls in love with his donor’s widow.
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Local newspapers presented it as a miraculous love story. Apple’s synopsis says it then takes a tragic turn when Sonny dies the same way as his heart donor, Terry Cottle. In both cases, the official conclusion is suicide.
Friends and family recall changes in Sonny’s behavior after the transplant, and Apple says some question whether the heart he received could have carried traces of the donor’s trauma. The show’s page on Apple’s press site puts the central question bluntly: “Are the two men’s deaths just a coincidence, or are there darker forces at work?”
Apple says the series draws on three years of reporting and follows the families’ search for answers through court filings, public records and personal accounts. It examines the connections between the two men’s lives and deaths, with Apple listing “trauma, identity and the mysteries of the heart” as its themes.
How the release works
Apple is splitting the release between Apple TV subscribers and everyone else on Apple Podcasts.
| Listener | What you get on October 19, 2026 | After launch |
|---|---|---|
| Apple TV subscribers | All eight episodes | Nothing to wait for |
| Nonsubscribers | First three episodes for free | One new episode weekly through the finale on November 23, 2026 |
So if you do not subscribe to Apple TV, you can still hear the whole series for free, but you will have to wait until November 23 for the final episode. Apple TV costs $14.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers, according to Apple.
You can follow the show in Apple Podcasts now at apple.co/Heart.
Who is making it
Kilgariff is a writer, producer, podcast host and comedian, best known for co-hosting “My Favorite Murder.” In Apple’s announcement, she says: “Working with such a talented production team has made hosting ‘Heart’ an absolute dream. I’m so proud to be a part of this show.”
Apple calls “Heart” the latest collaboration between Apple and Plan B. That partnership already includes the Brad Pitt racing feature “F1 The Movie,” and Apple says an upcoming father-son dramedy film starring Mark Wahlberg and the feature “The Waffle House Index” are also on the way.
Blanchard House has made Apple Original Podcasts before. Its earlier work for Apple includes “Extrasensory,” “The Pirate of Prague” and “Adrift.”
Where it fits on Apple Podcasts
“Heart” joins a list of Apple Original Podcasts that Apple says are now streaming on Apple Podcasts. Among them:
- “Unicorn Girl”
- “Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story”
- “Adrift”
- “The Line,” a duPont-Columbia Award winner
- “Hooked,” a Webby Award nominee
- “Run, Bambi, Run”
- “Operation: Tradebom”
- “My Divo”
- “The Pirate of Prague”
- “Magnificent Jerk”
- “Missed Fortune”
Apple also produces official companion podcasts for the Apple TV series “Foundation” and “For All Mankind,” and for the docuseries “The Big Conn.”
The trailer and full credits are in Apple’s announcement for Heart.
If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. In the U.S., call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
