Y'lan Noel has taken on various roles since "Insecure" wrapped three years ago, but none have followed him as closely as his portrayal of Daniel, the suave and seductive side piece in Issa Rae’s groundbreaking series. Even today, fans recognize him on the street and immediately associate him with the show. “That show is a hit around the world, and that’s been such a valuable asset,” Noel tells BET. “I mean, [I get] free food, gifts… At the same time, I will never be Daniel again, and while that’s certainly something I’m proud of, my goal has always been to play completely different characters, and not get pigeonholed.”

Noel makes a bold pivot from Daniel with his role in "Lady in the Lake," an Apple TV+ murder mystery drama starring Natalie Portman. Set in late 1960s Baltimore, the series explores the intersecting lives of two women from very different backgrounds: Maddie Schwartz (Portman), a Jewish housewife, and Cleo Johnson (Moses Ingram), a Black activist.

Noel plays Ferdie Platt, a police officer who becomes dangerously involved with Maddie. With thick mutton chops and a period-perfect Afro, Noel’s transformation is striking and unexpected for those who only know him as Daniel. “Ferdie,” Noel explains, “chooses to be a cop, knowing that people are gonna call him ‘pig,’ knowing what a sort of social disaster that is. And yet he remains authentically Black and protective of the community. He has pure intentions among not-so-good cops, and he manages to always have a sense of integrity in the things that he does, but he finds himself in a situation where he’s like, ‘I’m gonna do things my way.’”

"Lady in the Lake," adapted from Laura Lippman’s novel, tackles complex issues of race, gender, and social dynamics. The show begins with Maddie as a sheltered housewife in a stifling marriage, bound by the rules of her faith and community. Similarly, Cleo is limited by her roles as a woman, a mother, and a Black person in a segregated society. When Maddie leaves her marriage and moves into a Black neighborhood, she becomes involved in Cleo’s life after her suspicious murder. Maddie’s quest to investigate the crime leads her to become a journalist, but her motivations raise uncomfortable questions. The series scrutinizes the problematic “white savior” trope, challenging viewers to question Maddie’s true intentions and how her mission might exploit Black trauma for her own sense of purpose. As Ferdie embarks on a secret and dangerous affair with Maddie, he becomes enmeshed in her ethically murky work, complicating his relationship with both his job and his community. “It’s showing how oppressed people can oppress other people,” Noel reflects. “It’s about really being conscious of when you're dealing with your own struggle, the tendency of us to ignore the struggles of others, how one's liberation and pursuit of that ends up affecting another one.”

"Lady in the Lake" is a serious, timely, and emotionally charged narrative that stands in stark contrast to the juicy fun of "Insecure." Noel is deeply proud of the work, especially given the current discussions around Black-Jewish relations. One of the show’s key messages, he says, is that one group’s liberation doesn’t have to come at the expense of another’s struggle. “Everybody that we meet is in the midst of pursuing their dreams,” Noel says. “And I think that everybody, all the characters, are doing exactly that, and it affects different people in different ways. These characters ultimately find out that they're a little bit more alike than they are not alike, and I think that the world in general can continue to come to grips with that.”

"Lady in the Lake" airs on Apple TV+ with the series finale set to drop on Friday, Aug. 23.