Since its debut on Apple TV+, “Disclaimer” has emerged as one of the most psychologically gripping and narratively ambitious series of the year. The haunting score, composed by Grammy and Oscar winner Finneas O’Connell, plays a key role in shaping the show’s unnerving emotional landscape. Created and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the limited series follows Catherine Ravenscroft (Cate Blanchett), a revered investigative journalist whose world is upended by the release of a novel that appears to expose a dark chapter from her past. The show’s supporting cast includes Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Lesley Manville, with each character circling the uneasy territory between truth, guilt, and perception.
The seven-part series unfolds with temporal shifts and psychological tension, steadily peeling back layers of memory and manipulation. Viewers are transported between present-day London and the seaside town of Catherine’s youth, as past traumas resurface and previously buried truths come into question. As Catherine’s sense of reality begins to fracture, the show’s haunting aesthetic is matched by the equally evocative original score by Finneas.
Known primarily for his chart-topping collaborations with his sister Billie Eilish, Finneas enters new territory here as the sole composer for a full television season. His work on “Disclaimer” trades pop production and electronics for minimal, often mournful string arrangements that mirror the emotional weight of the series. The score is largely devoid of percussion, opting instead for the intimacy of string ensembles and stark melodic lines that punctuate scenes of both vulnerability and dread.
“It was uncharted territory,” Finneas says of the experience. “There’s basically no percussion on this whole score—almost exclusively string quartet, string octet.” Collaborating closely with arranger David Campbell and drawing inspiration from Bach and other classical references embedded in the show, Finneas worked with the acclaimed Attacca Quartet to bring this unique sonic palette to life. The result is a score that feels intimate yet unsettling, threading emotional cues through a series of increasingly fractured perspectives.
Crucially, Finneas developed distinct musical signatures for the show’s multiple timelines. “All of the music in the past sequence was very romantic and tonally super different from the present-day compositions,” he explains. “They never cross streams.” This deliberate separation reinforces the series’ blurred line between memory and reality. “It was really fun for me,” he adds. “I love writing romantic, super melodic stuff.”
Finneas spoke to “Awards Focus” about his collaboration with Alfonso Cuarón, the creative freedom and challenges of scoring “Disclaimer,” and how the experience has already influenced his latest musical work.
Awards Focus: It’s an honor to meet you, Finneas. You have such a broad body of work, but correct me if I’m wrong—this is your first time scoring a television series, right?
Finneas: Yeah. Correct.
AF: Can you talk a bit about your approach to scoring a longer format like this compared to a film or your other music projects?
Finneas: Yeah. I mean, the main sort of difference—because they had filmed everything by the time I was really working in earnest—so I approached it not super dissimilarly from working on a movie. I would load up episode five and work on a piece of music, and then kind of go back. I wasn’t working on it in a front-to-back way. I was just picking and choosing, and I find that helpful because sometimes you can see where something’s going way over here, and then you can kind of work backwards from there and start at the beginning, you know what I mean? As opposed to just building one step at a time. You kind of have a whole schematic. So that’s kind of similar to scoring a movie, which I’ve only done a couple times.
But the main difference was working with strings. My bread and butter is synths and guitar and keys and percussion and stuff, and there’s basically no percussion on this whole score—almost exclusively string quartet, string octet. That was a super new experience for me. I’ve done a very small amount of string arrangement with violin players. Obviously we got to work with Matt Dunkley and Hans Zimmer on the “No Time to Die” string arrangement, but that was super limited experience for me. So working on this was uncharted territory, but really fun.
AF: And the decision to focus on strings—was that coming from director Alfonso Cuarón, or was it something you brought to the table based on the tone and style of the series?
Finneas: Yeah. He sent me a bunch of—first of all, there were a lot of Bach pieces baked into the source music. A character is listening to Bach in almost every scene where he’s in his house. So there was kind of a feeling that we were going to make pieces that coexist with these LPs that he’s listening to, or pieces that contrast with them.
The references he sent over were string quartets and string octets. Alfonso musically has sort of a humble taste. The idea of a 70-piece orchestra, timpani, horn sections—none of that was interesting to him. He liked the sparseness of three or four voices—a cello, a couple violins, viola. So we leaned that way.
David Campbell, who was doing all my notation and helping me orchestrate, is a wonderful conductor and arranger. He told me, if you really want a string quartet to play all these pieces, find a great one. His immediate recommendation, because of their repertoire, was the Attacca Quartet. Alfonso already knew about them and was on board immediately. So that was great to have their ability on the score.
AF: I want to ask about a specific episode. I think it’s episode three, where we start seeing past and present versions of Catherine, and it becomes clear she might not be a reliable narrator. Were there any musical cues or tools you used to signal that unreliability?
Finneas: Yeah. I mean, all of the music in the past sequence, which is also sort of the fantasy sequence, was very romantic and tonally super different from all of the present-day compositions. And they never cross streams. That was really on purpose.
There was one moment in episode five or six where I sent Alfonso something in the real world with a little element of the music from the fantasy world, and he was like, absolutely not. When we go in and out of this fantasy narrative with the vignette, it’s all supposed to feel like you’re in a different place. Catherine’s character is not only a younger version, it’s a totally different actress. He was really adamant about the differentiation. That was really fun for me, because I love writing romantic, super melodic stuff. So the most melodic, most romantic material is all in the past sequence.
AF: The finale is incredibly intense and not the easiest watch. There are several scenes, including some throughout the season, where we don’t hear the dialogue—just narration and your music. Were those always meant to play that way, or did those choices evolve later in the process?
Finneas: You’d have to ask Alfonso about that. The ocean rescue scenes, the hospital chase at the end, the quiet car rides—those were amazing to score. There’s dialogue, then it drops out, then comes back. As a composer, that’s some of the most fun you can have—writing music that weaves in and out of the dialogue.
Alfonso is a super intentional filmmaker. What I loved watching him work on this—because I’ve only ever seen the end results of his films—is that he’ll have a great idea, try it, and then be open to scrapping it if it doesn’t work. He was happy to change his mind. I think that’s a great creative trait.
People get married to ideas and stick with them even when they don’t work. I’ve done it too. Like, I painted a room in my house a color I loved, then realized it didn’t feel right once I was in it. So I had to repaint it. Watching Alfonso make those kinds of course corrections was inspiring.
AF: In that last episode, you also bring in what I’d describe as operatic vocals. Is that something you’ve worked with before?
Finneas: Not on the two other movies I worked on. But obviously I’ve done the most work with singers. The idea to use vocals in the flashback sequences came from Alfonso—he wanted to heighten the fantasy element of those scenes.
It was a great addition. We used different instrumentation for the modern world, different for Robert’s coverage, and different for Catherine’s. Then when you enter the flashbacks, the vocalist comes in. It’s very different. It’s really fun.
AF: The emotional range across the score is wide—shame, memory, psychological breakdown. Does that tap into a different part of your creative process compared to songwriting or producing?
Finneas: I try to be a reactive creator. Scoring for film and television is all about reacting. You see what’s on screen, you make music, and then see if the two work together. If they don’t, try again.
That’s the same if I’m in the studio with a guitarist playing something cool—I want to react and build on that. I try to stay open.
AF: Do you feel like a certain part of your creative identity is emerging more strongly? You’ve got the pop work, scoring, and songwriting for films—what’s starting to feel most natural?
Finneas: I feel the most confident as a co-writer, producer, collaborator for artists like Billie. That’s where I feel the most sure of my abilities.
Doing film and TV scores is more like taking a college course in Latin. It’s a real exercise for the brain. Writing a song for a movie like “Barbie” is a thrill, more like an assignment. But where I don’t feel nervous is in the studio with artists like Billie, Benny Blanco, or Justin Bieber. That’s where I feel calm.
AF: Coming back to “Disclaimer,” how did this project influence your other work—especially with your solo album on the way?
Finneas: I worked on “Hit Me Hard and Soft” while I was working on this series. I was doing all the string composition and working with the quartet, and that definitely bled over into Billie’s album. There are several string interludes and overtures on that album, and that was all informed by what I was learning on “Disclaimer.” So that was a direct influence, which was really fun.
AF: Looking back at the full experience of “Disclaimer,” is there a moment or scene you’re especially proud of?
Finneas: Yeah, I’m really proud of the water rescue sequence. I love how the music feels in that scene. I’m also proud of a few scenes with Nancy (Manville) and Stephen (Kline), especially the one at the end of episode three, where they’re walking into the surf holding hands. It’s a beautiful moment, and I’m proud of the music there. But really, those are just scenes I loved. When you’re moved by a scene, there’s more pressure to match that with the music.
AF: Excellent. It was a real pleasure talking with you, Finneas. Thanks again for the time.
Finneas: Thanks again. You too.