Apple TV+ viewers have a new pulse-pounding watch to take in Friday — The Lost Bus movie. It tells the story of the Camp Fire laying waste to Paradise, California, as a lone school bus driver played by Matthew McConaughey tries to save nearly two dozen children from the inferno. Action maven Paul Greengrass directs. He’s best known for Bloody Sunday, two Jason Bourne movies and Captain Phillips.
The film scores an 86% Fresh critical rating and a 92% Fresh viewer rating on reviews site RottenTomatoes.com. “McConaughey, as a nervy reluctant hero, steers the searing, intense narrative about normal people living through the most hellish of circumstances,” wrote USA Today. “The Lost Bus traps us in that disorientating push and pull — it’s a little too real to entertain, and a little too entertaining to feel real,” noted The Independent. Generally, even those who criticized the film’sHollywood-ness praised its intense realism and almost unbearable, horror-movie-style tension.
Wildfire rescue drama The Lost Bus with Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera debuts on Apple TV+ in fall 2025
June 9, 2025: As someone who lived just over 150 miles from Paradise, California, when the Camp Fire utterly destroyed the town — and ended up ranking as the state’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire ever — the new trailer for upcoming rescue drama The Lost Bus got to me more than most teaser trailers do. Where I lived, I may have only suffered from harshly smoky conditions and relentless media coverage, but the trailer brought back the second-hand trauma with surprising emotional force.
In a story based on real events, Matthew McConaughey stars as a school bus driver and America Ferrera plays a school teacher determined to save 23 school kids in the fire’s path. The film gets a limited theatrical release before lighting up Apple TV+ in fall 2025. And as the western United States and Canada seem to suffer worsening fire seasons every year, and TV shows like Fire Country become hits, it seems like this film could further fuel the “wildfire thriller” genre.
Apple TV+’s first teaser trailer for upcoming rescue drama The Lost Bus promises to deliver both heart-pounding action and emotional depth when it arrives this fall, according to the streaming service. The film stars Academy Award winner McConaughey and Emmy winner Ferrera in what looks like an ambitious Apple Original Film.
The majority of the short tailer just shows McConaughey’s character, behind the wheel of his empty school bus, reacting to the building news of the growing ordeal and agonizing over what he can do — especially as the dispatcher’s call for someone to pick up potentially trapped kids comes over the radio. That with a few intercut scenes of wind-driven wildfire encroachment build an incredible sense of dread. Later we see what he feared, as the bus shambles through a fiery hillside hellscape.
A race against nature’s fury
Academy Award nominee Paul Greengrass, known for his visceral approach to action filmmaking in movies like Captain Phillips and the Bourne series, directs The Lost Bus. It tells the harrowing story of survival during one of America’s most devastating wildfires.
The newly released teaser showcases breathtaking and terrifying footage of characters battling against towering flames and smoke-filled skies. The fire killed 85 people and destroyed 18,804 structures in the town of Paradise, which had a population of 26,000 before the conflagration.
McConaughey takes on the role of a wayward school bus driver who finds himself thrust into an impossible situation, while Ferrera plays a dedicated teacher determined to protect her students, Apple TV+ said. Together, they must navigate the chaos of a deadly wildfire to save 23 children trapped in the path of destruction. The film’s premise, inspired by real events, adds an extra layer of gravity to what promises to be an intense viewing experience.
Based on true events
The Lost Bus draws its inspiration from Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, a book by journalist Lizzie Johnson. The screenplay, written by Greengrass alongside Brad Ingelsby, transforms Johnson’s detailed reporting into what appears to be a white-knuckle thriller that doesn’t shy away from the human cost of natural disasters.
The project came to Apple through an interesting chain of connections. After hearing Johnson speak on NPR about her book, actress Jamie Lee Curtis read the work and brought it to Blumhouse Productions, where she maintains a first-look deal. Curtis serves as one of the film’s producers alongside Jason Blum, Gregory Goodman and Ingelsby himself.
Watch teaser trailer for The Lost Bus:
Star power meets streaming ambition
For Apple TV+ subscribers, The Lost Bus looks like another significant addition to the platform’s growing library of premium original content. The streaming service has consistently invested in high-profile projects featuring A-list talent, and this latest offering continues that trend with its impressive cast and crew.
Beyond McConaughey and Ferrera, the film features Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson and Spencer Watson in supporting roles. The combination of Greengrass’s directorial expertise, the star power of the leads, and the real-world foundation of the story suggests Apple TV+ users will have another compelling reason to tune in this fall.
Watch dramas and thrillers on Apple TV+
The Lost Bus debuts in select theaters before arriving on Apple TV+ in fall 2025, giving viewers both theatrical and streaming options to experience this intense survival drama. In the meantime, you can stream plenty of other Apple Original Films. Apple TV+ is available by subscription for $9.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. Customers who buy a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
After launching in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 471 wins and 2,090 award nominations and counting,” the service said.
Apple TV+ is home to more than 200 exclusive movies and TV shows (including breakout soccer comedy Ted Lasso). The service also offers documentaries, dramas, comedies, kids shows and more.
This post first published on June 9, 2025, and republished with updates on October 3, 2025.
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
