Defending Jacob (miniseries)

Defending Jacob is an American crime drama miniseries, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by William Landay, produced by Apple TV+. The series was created and written by Mark Bomback and directed by Morten Tyldum. It stars Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell, Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Betty Gabriel, Sakina Jaffrey and J.K. Simmons. It premiered on April 24, 2020, and concluded on May 29, 2020.

The series received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly those of Evans, Dockery and Martell), ambiguity, and emotional weight, but criticized the pacing, length and ending. The miniseries was released on Blu-ray and DVD on July 6, 2021, by Paramount Home Entertainment.

Premise
Assistant District Attorney Andy Barber and his wife Laurie deal with the accusation that their 14-year-old son Jacob may be a murderer.

Main

 * Chris Evans as Andrew "Andy" Stephen Barber
 * Michelle Dockery as Laurie Barber
 * Jaeden Martell as Jacob "Jake" Barber
 * Cherry Jones as Joanna Klein
 * Pablo Schreiber as Neal Logiudice
 * Betty Gabriel as Pam Duffy
 * Sakina Jaffrey as Lynn Canavan

Recurring

 * J. K. Simmons as William "Bloody Billy" Barber
 * Daniel Henshall as Leonard Patz
 * Ben Taylor as Derek Yoo
 * Jordan Alexa Davis as Sarah Grohl
 * Megan Byrne as Joan Rifkin
 * Christopher Buckner as Young William "Bloody Billy" Barber (flashbacks)
 * Patrick Fischler as Dan Rifkin
 * Poorna Jagannathan as Dr. Vogel
 * Lizzie Short as Marianne Barber (flashbacks)
 * Evan Risser as Young Andy Barber (flashbacks)
 * William Xifaras as Father James O’Leary
 * Lenny Clarke as Food Truck Guy
 * Michelle D. Violette as Paula Gianetto

Development
On September 20, 2018, it was announced that Apple had given a straight-to-series order consisting of eight episodes to a television miniseries adaptation of William Landay's 2012 novel Defending Jacob. The series was created by Mark Bomback who also wrote the series and executive produced alongside Chris Evans, Morten Tyldum, Rosalie Swedlin, and Adam Shulman. Tyldum also directed the series as well. Production companies involved with the series consist of Paramount Television and Anonymous Content.

Casting
Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Chris Evans had been cast in the series' lead role. In March 2019, Michelle Dockery and Jaeden Martell joined the cast of the series. In April 2019, Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Betty Gabriel and Sakina Jaffrey joined the cast of the series. J. K. Simmons was revealed as part of the cast in a March 2020 trailer.

Filming
Filming was confirmed to commence in Newton, Massachusetts––the city in which the novel takes place––in April 2019. Three locations were confirmed for filming: Cold Spring Park, the village of Newton Highlands, and the UMass Amherst Mount Ida Campus. Additional filming began in Belmont, Massachusetts. Filming also began in Salem, Massachusetts, on June 15, 2019, as well as at MCI Cedar Junction in Walpole, Massachusetts, on June 17, 2019, and in Lowell, Massachusetts, by the UMass Lowell Tsongas Arena on June 19, 2019. Filming took place at River's Edge in Medford, Massachusetts, on June 21, 2019. Filming also commenced on June 28, 2019, in Worcester, Massachusetts, and on July 8, 2019, in Watertown, Massachusetts, where the facade of the old Watertown Police Station appears as the Newton Police Station in the series. Filming took place on July 9, 2019, at the Town Diner in Watertown. On July 18, 2019, they filmed at C&M Pizza in Leominster, Massachusetts. Neighborhood scenes were filmed in Needham, Massachusetts. The scenes in Mexico were filmed on September 25, 2019, at the Grand Velas hotel in Nuevo Vallarta, in the state of Nayarit. Scenes were filmed also in Waltham on the property of Northgate Gardens Condominium.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series' approval rating is 72% based on reviews from 61 critics, with an average rating of 6.68/10. The website's critical consensus is, "Despite outstanding work from Michelle Dockery and Chris Evans, Defending Jacob stretches its source material too thin, undermining its own rich tension with too much melodramatic padding." On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The series has reportedly become the second most popular Apple TV+ show.