Brothers is an American comedy television series created by Matthew McConaughey & Woody Harrelson, Lee Eisenberg, and David West Read. The series premiered on September 23, 2026.
Contents
Premise
Chronicles a fictional version of the lives of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, whose strong friendship is put to the test when they decide to live together with their families at McConaughey's Texas ranch after Harrelson's daughter's wedding falls apart. While at the ranch, McConaughey and Harrelson uncover a family secret that the two might be brothers.
Cast
Main
Woody Harrelson as himself
Matthew McConaughey as himself
Natalie Martinez as Valentina, Matthew's wife
Brittany Ishibashi as Joy, Woody's wife
Nolan Almeida as Wyatt, Matthew and Valentina's eldest son
Ella Grace Helton as Clara, Matthew and Valentina's daughter
Noah Carganilla as River, Matthew and Valentina's younger son
Highdee Kuan as Olive, Woody and Joy's eldest daughter
Oona Yaffe as Kai, Woody and Joy's younger, adopted daughter
Holland Taylor as Ma Mac, Matthew's mother
Recurring
Lisa Gilroy as Gwen Hillcrest Barnes-Davies, the campaign manager that Matthew hires in his run for governor of Texas
Guest
Jeff Kober as TJ Travis, one of a pair of criminal brothers who have a score to settle with Woody about his father Clive
Barry Corbin as Carl Travis, the other member of a pair of criminal brothers who have a score to settle with Woody about his father Clive
Richard Robichaux as Scottie, the operator of an animal shelter that Woody adopts a dog from
Jimmy Fowlie as Brad, the customer support representative for Roots DNA Testing
Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy
Will Greenberg as Officer Anderson
Kevin Daniels as Roger
Dax Shepard as himself
Production
Development
It was announced in March 2023 that Apple TV+ had ordered the series, with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson set to star in and executive produce.
In August 2025, Paramount Television Studios had assumed production of the series following the merger of Skydance Television's parent company Skydance Media with Paramount Global into Paramount Skydance.
The idea of Harrelson and McConaughey potentially being brothers is derived from McConaughey's mother claiming to be intimate with Harrelson's father around the time of his conception. No DNA testing was made at the time to determine the credibility of this theory.
Casting
Casting announcements on the series were made in February 2025, with Holland Taylor, Natalie Martinez and Brittany Ishibashi joining the cast, and Jason Winer hired to direct multiple episodes of the series. In March, the series was titled Brothers, with Oona Yaffe, Highdee Kuan, Nolan Almeida, Ella Grace Helton and Noah Carganilla cast to portray McConaughey and Harrelson's children.
Filming
Principal photography for the series begun in November 2024, with scenes shot in Austin, Texas. Production was suspended and the cast sent home in June 2025, after disagreements over the direction of the series saw West Read leave the project. Lee Eisenberg entered negotiations to step in as showrunner.
Release
Brothers premiered on Apple TV on September 23, 2026, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis until the season finale on November 4.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 56%, based on 41 reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 5.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Wacky, tacky, and just a little too self-involved, McConaughey and Harrelson bring the meta laughs but not much else in this convoluted examination of Brothers." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 52 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
