After 6 Years, Anya Taylor-Joy Is Officially Returning To Lead A Streaming Show Next Month

It’s been six years since Anya Taylor-Joy has been on a streaming TV show, but she’ll be breaking that streak next month with her lead role in an upcoming series. Anya Taylor-Joy has been having an excellent, consistent career in the years since her acting debut in 2014 with small roles in Vampire Academy and Endeavour.

It didn’t take long for Taylor-Joy to break out though. In 2015, she starred in Robert Eggers’ folk horror film The Witch as Thomasin, a young woman whose family is beset by supernatural forces. Since then, she’s been a major star, with recurring roles in Peaky Blinders and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

Her film career has been even more notable. She starred in Split, Emma, The New Mutants, Last Night in Soho, The Menu, the Dune franchise, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. It’s a career that has seemingly left TV behind, which is why it’s a bit of a surprise that she will be starring in the TV series Lucky in 2026.

Lucky is a new Apple TV series set to premiere on July 15 starring Taylor-Joy and Timothy Olyphant. The miniseries is based on Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel of the same name and follows Lucky (Taylor-Joy) who is on the run from both a crime boss and the FBI after a heist she plans goes awry.

Annette Bening co-stars as Priscilla Matheson, the smooth-talking mob leader who wants Lucky; while Olyphant plays John Armstrong, Lucky’s father; and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor rounds out the main cast as Agent Billie Rand. Drew Starkey, Clifton Collins Jr., Mo McRae, William Fichtner, Eric Lange, and Joey Graziadei fill out the rest of the cast.

Lucky Is Anya Taylor-Joy’s First Role In A Streaming Show Since The Queen’s Gambit

Lucky is the first TV show that Anya Taylor-Joy has been a part of since The Queen’s Gambit, her 2020 miniseries that it felt like everyone watched in the early stages of the pandemic. This Netflix miniseries is based on the 1983 novel of the same name, which is set in 1950s and 1960s America.

Beth Harmon (Taylor-Joy) lost her mother in a car crash at nine-years-old and is sent to an orphanage where she bristles against everyone and everything. However, she soon learns the finer points of chess and becomes a confident prodigy. After she is adopted by a childless couple, Beth enters chess competitions across America, beating everyone but also struggling to handle her addiction to alcohol.

The series went two for two at the Golden Globes, with Taylor-Joy winning for Best Actress – Limited Series or Television Film. The series also earned six Emmy nominations. Taylor-Joy’s Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie was one of them. It’s one of the best miniseries on Netflix, and if Taylor-Joy’s performance in Lucky is anything like this one, it should be something special.

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Anya Taylor-Joy Is No Stranger To Apple TV

Credits: MovieStillsDB

While Lucky is Taylor-Joy’s return to television in six years, she’s been on Apple TV more recently, co-starring in The Gorge alongside Miles Teller. The Gorge is a science fiction romance horror action thriller mashup that takes place almost entirely by a deep, secret gorge in a mountain range.

On either side of the gorge sits two large towers. In one, U.S. Marine Scout Levi Kane (Teller) guards the western side, and in the other, a Lithuanian mercenary from the Kremlin named Drasa (Taylor-Joy) guards the eastern side. A romance develops between the solitary soldiers and the film is a fun, endearing romance with some great action. Lucky could be another feather in both Apple TV’s and Anya Taylor-Joy’s caps.

Release Date

July 15, 2026

Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

Jonathan Tropper, Cassie Pappas, Jonathan van Tulleken