Rafe Spall leads Trying season 5 to 8 July premiere
Rafe Spall returns to Trying when the family comedy opens its fifth season on 8 July, with Apple TV also releasing first-look images for the new run. The series has built its identity around Nikki and Jason’s adoption journey, and season 5 starts with that family structure under new pressure.
Spall stars as Jason alongside Esther Smith as Nikki, and the show picks up with the consequences of Princess and Tyler’s biological mother Kat showing up at their doorstep. That setup keeps the series rooted in the couple’s existing family while pushing the story into a new conflict for the fifth season.
Apple TV sets 8 July
8 July is the date attached to the first episode of Trying season 5 on Apple TV, with new episodes following weekly after the premiere. The timing matters for viewers because the rollout keeps the series in a steady release pattern rather than dropping the full season at once.
2020 is when Trying first premiered, and the show now returns with a fifth season after establishing Nikki and Jason’s adoption journey across the earlier run. That long runway gives Apple TV a comedy that already has a defined audience and a repeatable weekly rhythm.
New cast around Jason
Celia Imrie, Gbemisola Ikumelo and Colin Morgan join the season 5 cast, expanding the ensemble around Jason and Nikki. Charlotte Riley returns as Kat, the biological mother whose arrival drives the new season’s starting point.
Siân Brooke also reprises her role as Nikki’s sister Karen, with Darren Boyd back as Karen’s husband Scott. The returning names matter because Trying has always worked as an ensemble piece, not just a two-hander for Spall and Smith.
Trying’s critical track record
Season 2 and season 4 each hold a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%, while the first season has a Certified Fresh score of 88% out of 25 reviews. That record gives the fifth season a rare advantage for a comedy: a proven critical base before the new episodes even arrive.
Collider called season 4’s writing and ensemble “so addictive,” while Culturess described the series as “upbeat” and Tellyvisions praised Andy Wolton’s “ability to hone in on universal parenting moments and find the inherent humor is the true genius of Trying.” Those reactions line up with the show’s business case: a dependable comedy returning with new faces, a familiar family conflict and a weekly release that should keep attention on Apple TV through the summer.
