Apple TV has released the first trailer for Heart, a new true-crime podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff that explores a deeply unsettling story involving a heart transplant, an unexpected romance, and two men whose deaths share a disturbing connection. The eight-episode Apple Original podcast premieres October 19 on Apple Podcasts.

The series follows Sonny Graham, who receives a lifesaving heart transplant and later falls in love with the widow of his heart donor, Terry Cottle. What initially appears to be an extraordinary love story takes a tragic turn when Graham dies by suicide, mirroring the circumstances of Cottle’s death.

Both deaths were officially ruled suicides. However, changes in Graham’s behavior after the transplant led friends and family members to question whether there was more to the story. The podcast examines speculation that Graham’s transplanted heart might somehow have carried traces of Cottle’s trauma, while investigating the circumstances surrounding both men’s lives and deaths.

That premise gives Heart a different angle from a conventional true-crime series. Rather than focusing exclusively on a single crime or investigation, the podcast explores the questions that emerged when two families found themselves connected by a donor heart and two remarkably similar tragedies.

Karen Kilgariff brings her true-crime experience to ‘Heart’

Kilgariff is best known as the co-host of My Favorite Murder alongside Georgia Hardstark. She is also a writer, producer, comedian, and experienced podcast host, making her a natural fit for a series built around a complicated real-life mystery.

Heart is produced by Plan B, the production company led by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner, in collaboration with British audio studio Blanchard House. The latter has also produced Apple Original podcasts including Extrasensory, The Pirate of Prague, and Adrift.

The series draws on three years of reporting, using court filings, public records, and personal accounts to investigate the two men’s stories. Its central questions concern grief, trauma, identity, and how the families involved have tried to understand what happened.

Importantly, the suggestion that a transplanted heart could carry traces of its donor’s emotional trauma is presented as speculation within the story, not an established scientific explanation for the two deaths.

When does ‘Heart’ premiere on Apple Podcasts?

Apple will release all eight episodes of Heart on October 19 for Apple TV subscribers. Listeners without an Apple TV subscription will be able to hear the first three episodes for free on launch day, followed by one new episode each week until the finale on November 23.

The trailer is already available on Apple Podcasts, giving listeners an early look at the investigation before the full series arrives.