Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Last Days Of Ptolemy Grey’ On Apple TV+, Where Samuel L. Jackson Plays A Dementia-Suffering Man Who Gets All Of His Memories Back

People tend to forget that Samuel L. Jackson is one of the best actors working today. Sure, he brings his signature energy to roles like Nick Fury in the MCU films, but in a career that spans 50 years, he’s shown far more range than just spewing f-bombs and being intense. All of that range is on display in the new Apple limited series The Last Days Of Ptolemy Grey.

THE LAST DAYS OF PTOLEMY GREY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A table with a picture of a woman, a glass with cartoon chipmunks on it, a fifth of whiskey, a gun, and a tape recorder. A man hits record on and starts speaking into it: “Two plus nine equal 11.”

The Gist: Ptolemy Grey (Samuel L. Jackson) records an apology for what he’s about to do that day, as he checks to see if the revolver he has is loaded. “That motherfucker’s got to pay for what he’s done.” Someone pounds on the door, and when he asks who it is, the response is, “You know damn well who it is.”

Flash back two months. The clean apartment we’ve just seen is filled with hoarder-level filth and clutter. Ptolemy, more disheveled than before with his hair growing wild and a massive beard, sits in a lawn chair among the piles and watches the morning news while classical music plays on his stereo. He still lives on his own but his mind has been slipping, to the point where he starts seeing people from his past as if they’re right there in front of him. He has a board with pictures of loved ones and names to remind him who they are.

His nephew Reggie (Omar Benson Miller) comes over on a regular basis to look in on him and take him to appointments. It’s been getting to be more of a struggle to get his uncle to remember his face, much less details about their past. He drinks water out of the one clean glass — the one with the cartoon chipmunks on it — and gets him dressed to go to the doctor to inspect a healing burn on Ptolemy’s hand. He tells his uncle that he’s thinking of moving the family away from Atlanta and start anew in Texas.

The ironic thing is that, despite the rapid deterioration of Ptolemy’s dementia, his body is healthy, and he still heals from injuries like the burn quickly. The doctor, a family friend, gives Reggie the contact info for Dr. Rubin (Walton Goggins), who is doing a trial for a new dementia treatment; he’s eager for Ptolemy to join the study, given his relative good health. On the way home from the doctor, Reggie gets more evidence that his uncle needs help, as he almost gets run over when he thinks he sees someone he knows across the street.

Reggie makes the appointment before he leaves. Then, alone eating his cans of beans, time starts to compress for Ptolemy. The next knock on the door is another grand-nephew, Hilliard (DeRon Horton), the son of his niece Niecy (Marsha Stephanie Blake). He has to take him to Reggie’s house for what Ptolemy thinks is a party, but first they have to cash his checks at the bank. Ptolemy sees an older woman who asks him for $40 in exchange for a ring that enraptures him. Hillard takes 2/3 of Ptolemy’s money and blames it on the older lady.

At Reggie’s house, he is greeted by most of his family, all of whom are wearing black. He’s also introduced to Robyn (Dominique Fishback), an orphaned teen who Niecy thinks will be a good person to be Ptolemy’s caretaker. It’s then he learns that Reggie is dead; he was shot in the face. He sobs in mourning for his nephew, but as soon as he leaves with Robyn, he asks her if Reggie will be at his apartment when they get there.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The first thing that comes to mind as a comp for The Last Days Of Ptolemy Grey is The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, another sci-fi-esque story with an old man at its center. Then, of course, there’s Charly / Flowers For Algernon, the movie based on the famous Daniel Keyes short story about a developmentally-challenged man who undergoes experimental surgery in order to increase his intelligence.

Our Take: So many shows in this era of prestige TV involve an ensemble, or at the very least a central character that’s only given slightly more of a spotlight than the rest of the cast. But in The Last Days Of Ptolemy Grey, the spotlight shines only on Samuel L. Jackson, and he responds by putting in one of the best performances of his distinguished career.

The series, adapted by Walter Mosley from his own novel, is a personal one for Jackson, as he’s said in interviews supporting the series, given how many members of his family have or had dementia and/or Alzheimer’s. That personal connection comes through in his performance as Ptolemy, especially in the phase where he is in mental decline. He’s tired, befuddled and seeing things he thinks are real. His only connection to the outside world is Reggie, and when that’s taken away, the pain in his cries are palpable, but Jackson also shows just how insidious the disease is when he shows Ptolemy immediately forgetting it even happened.

An actor as esteemed as Jackson could have played the role bigger and still have been able to gun for an Emmy. It’s not like he’s incapable of playing big, of course. But he manages to modulate his performance to make the suffering Ptolemy is going through quite real. It bodes well for later in the season, when his relationship with Robyn strengthens and the experiment with Dr. Rubin temporarily restores Ptolemy’s memory.

Just because Jackson dominates, it doesn’t mean Miller or Fishback disappear as Ptolemy’s caretakers. We don’t see a whole lot of Fishback in the first episode, but it does look like she can stay with Jackson as Robyn learns how to take care of this old guy who isn’t even related to her. We’re more exposed to Miller in the first episode, and we can see the care and concern on his face, and the history between him and his great uncle, a bond that informs why he has committed so much time to take care of Ptolemy.

Considering that the first episode was just an introduction to Ptolemy’s situation, and he hasn’t even met Dr. Rubin yet, we’re excited to see how Jackson handles Ptolemy’s transformation and the emotional baggage that comes with it.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Ptolemy and Robyn are on the bus, and Ptolemy sees a vision of Reggie with a bleeding gunshot wound in his face. He swears to that image that he’ll find out who killed him.

Sleeper Star: As we mentioned, Fishback has the chops to go toe to toe with Jackson, and we’re looking forward to seeing the two of them bond.

Most Pilot-y Line: None we could find.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Samuel L. Jackson’s emotional and affecting performance as Ptolemy Grey will keep you riveted, but the story is a fascinating one that supports Jackson’s remarkable performance.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.