Servant (TV series)

Servant is an American psychological horror television series created by Tony Basgallop, with executive producer M. Night Shyamalan acting as showrunner, and produced for Apple TV+. Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free and Rupert Grint star in all four seasons of the series, which premiered on November 28, 2019, and concluded with the end of its fourth season on March 17, 2023.

The series takes place in the household of Dorothy and Sean Turner, a couple in Philadelphia who hire eighteen-year-old Leanne Grayson to be the live-in nanny of their infant son Jericho; however, Jericho is dead and has been replaced by a reborn doll, which a traumatized Dorothy believes to be the real, still-alive Jericho, leading her family to act accordingly. Leanne's arrival brings about strange occurrences in the household, unearthing dark secrets of both her and the family.

The series received critical acclaim, with particular praise for its atmosphere and the performances of the four leads; it received high praise from Guillermo del Toro and Stephen King.

Premise
A wealthy Philadelphia couple, Dorothy and Sean Turner, experience a fracture in their marriage after the death of their thirteen-week-old son, Jericho. The couple undergo transitory object therapy using a lifelike reborn doll after Dorothy experiences a full psychotic break. The doll, which Dorothy believes is her real child, was the only thing that brought her out of a catatonic state following Jericho's death. Six weeks after his death, they hire a young nanny, Leanne Grayson, to move in and take care of Jericho, the reborn doll, opening their home to increasingly unusual occurrences. While Sean deals with the grief on his own, he becomes deeply suspicious of Leanne.

Main

 * Lauren Ambrose as Dorothy Turner (née Pearce), a local television news reporter and highly overprotective mother who accidentally killed her thirteen-week-old firstborn child by vehicular heatstroke, but lives under the delusion that he is alive and well.
 * Toby Kebbell as Sean Turner, Dorothy's husband and a stay-at-home consulting chef.
 * Nell Tiger Free as Leanne Grayson, a mysterious young nanny from Wisconsin hired by the Turners to look after "Baby Jericho". She grew up mistreated by her parents, and was later recruited by a cult, the Church of Lesser Saints, which she ran away from. The series frequently hints that she might possess powers, supernatural abilities that develop gradually and grow stronger every night she stays at the Turners' house.
 * Rupert Grint as Julian Pearce, Dorothy's alcoholic younger brother. Despite his discourteous behavior, he frequently helps the Turners.

Supporting

 * Mason and Julius Belford (season 1) and Jack and James Hoogerwerff (seasons 2–4) as Baby Jericho Turner, the firstborn child of the Turners who died from overheat in his mother's car due to her carelessness just two and a half months after he was born. He is later replaced by lifelike reborn doll to soothe Dorothy under the delusion that her son is still alive, but inexplicably re-appears alive and well following Leanne's arrival.
 * Phillip James Brannon as Matthew Roscoe, a man hired by Julian to help investigate Leanne and protect the Turners. His life is changed after an encounter with the Church of Lesser Saints.
 * Tony Revolori as Tobe, Sean's kind-hearted commis chef who has a crush on Leanne.
 * Soojeong Son as Wanda (Season 1), a babysitter whom Leanne befriends.
 * Boris McGiver as "Uncle" George, a member of the Church of Lesser Saints bent on bringing Leanne back to the cult, and posing as her uncle to the Turners.
 * Jerrika Hinton as Natalie Gorman (season 1–2), Dorothy's close friend and therapist who suggested the reborn doll as a temporary coping method, and one of the only people outside of the family to know about Jericho's death.
 * Molly Griggs as Isabelle Carrick (season 1–3), an up-and-coming reporter at 8News where Dorothy works.
 * Todd Waring as Frank Pearce, Dorothy and Julian's father and Jericho's maternal grandfather.
 * Alison Elliott as "Aunt" May Markhem (season 1–2, 4), George's wife and the leader of the Church of Lesser Saints, who poses as Leanne's aunt to the Turners.
 * Victoria Cartagena as Officer Stephanie Reyes (season 2, 4), a police officer who interacted with the Turners when Jericho died.
 * Billy Vargus as Walker Roush (season 2–4), a news anchor for 8 News.
 * Katie Lee Hill as Kourtney (season 2–4), Frank's much-younger girlfriend.
 * Barbara Sukowa as "Aunt" Josephine (season 2), a member of the Church of Lesser Saints.
 * Sunita Mani as Vera (season 3), Julian's girlfriend and a recovering drug addict.
 * Mathilde Dehaye as Snake (season 3–4), a homeless person in the park who left the Church of Lesser Saints to worship Leanne.
 * Joshua De Jesus as Milo (season 3), a homeless person part of Snake's group.
 * Mac Rop as Lou (season 3–4), a homeless person part of Snake's group.
 * Carmen Herlihy as Nancy (season 3), a minister Sean has been seeing.
 * Brian K. Landis as the Tall Man (season 4), a member of the Church of Lesser Saints
 * Barbara Kingsley as Roberta "Bobbie" (season 4), a live-in nurse for Dorothy's sick-nurse who is also a spiritual medium.
 * Denny Dillon as Beverly "Bev" (season 4), Dorothy's other live-in nurse.

Guest

 * M. Night Shyamalan as a Delivery Guy ("Reborn").
 * Nadia Alexander as Sylvia, Tobe's verbally-abusive girlfriend hoping to get a job from Sean ("Ring").
 * Carmen M. Herlihy as Nancy, Sean's minister from Liberty Unitarian ("Tiger" & "Fish").
 * Frank Wood as Dr. Dale Mackenzie, a psychologist who is a friend of Frank ("Commitment").

Development
On February 27, 2018, it was announced that Apple Inc. had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was created by Tony Basgallop who also wrote for the series and executive produced it alongside M. Night Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan, Jason Blumenthal, Todd Black, and Steve Tisch. Production companies involved with the show include Blinding Edge Pictures, Escape Artists, and Dolphin Black Productions. Mike Gioulakis served as the series' cinematographer. On October 3, 2019, it was reported that the series was scheduled to be released on November 28, 2019. Ahead of the series premiere, on November 22, 2019, it was announced that Apple had renewed the series for a second season which is set to premiere on January 15, 2021. On December 15, 2020, ahead of the second-season premiere, Apple renewed the series for a third season. On December 14, 2021, ahead of the third-season premiere, Apple renewed the series for a fourth and final season.

Shyamalan stated that he originally envisioned the series to stretch for 60 half-hour episodes, or six seasons, but he ultimately planned the show to be four seasons with 40 episodes in total.

Casting
On August 22, 2018, it was announced that Lauren Ambrose and Nell Tiger Free had been cast in leading roles. On November 30, 2018, it was reported that Rupert Grint had joined the main cast. On December 4, 2018, it was announced that Toby Kebbell had been cast in a starring role. In December 2021, Sunita Mani was announced to be joining the cast.

Filming
The first season of Servant was filmed in Philadelphia from November 2018 to March 2019. Exterior scenes took place in Philadelphia's Center City near Spruce and 21st Streets. A set for the interior of the Turner home was built in a former paint factory in Bethel Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Italian chef Marc Vetri served as a food consultant for the cooking scenes in season one.

In March 2020, Apple TV+ shut down production of season two due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, production resumed to finish the four remaining episodes of season two. Philadelphia chef Drew DiTomo was the food consultant for season two, spending many days making pizzas and teaching the cast to make the pizzas that served as the basis for Cheezus Crust, the fictional pizza delivery company that Sean and Dorothy created during the season.

In February 2021, it was reported that production on season three had begun.

In an interview with Backstage, Grint revealed that unlike many film and television productions, Servant is filmed chronologically, with the cast getting scripts as they film each episode, keeping them just as much a part of the mystery as the characters and viewers.

Apple reportedly asked Shyamalan not to display crucifixes on the walls during filming.

Release
The first season of Servant premiered on Apple TV+ on November 28, 2019, and ran for ten episodes until January 17, 2020. Ahead of the first-season premiere, Apple renewed the show for a second ten-episode season, which premiered on January 15, 2021. In December 2020, ahead of the second-season premiere, the series was renewed for a third season. The third season premiered on January 21, 2022. In December 2021, ahead of the third-season premiere, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season. The fourth and final season premiered on January 13, 2023.

Marketing
Coinciding with the release of the second-season finale, and paying homage to Cheezus Crust—the fictional pizza business that Dorothy and Sean create in the season—Apple partnered with two pizza restaurants in Los Angeles to offer free pizza throughout the weekend.

Critical response
For the first season, the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 84% approval rating with an average score of 7.2/10, based on 61 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though Servant's slithering mystery often wanders into dark, crowded corners, its claustrophobic atmosphere and powerful performances build enough tension to keep viewers hooked." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 for the season, based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported an 88% approval rating with an average score of 7.6/10, based on 26 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Servant's second season serves up a solid—if not always convincing—set of thrills with a better grasp on its dark humor." Metacritic assigned a score of 76 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% approval rating with an average score of 6.7/10, based on 12 reviews. Metacritic assigned a score of 73 out of 100 based on four critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

For the fourth and final season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average score of 7.9/10, based on 19 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Servant's devotion to gothic absurdity pays off handsomely in a confident final season, with this singular series ending on a note of characteristically wry disquiet." Metacritic assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on seven critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Author Stephen King has praised the series on multiple occasions, calling it "spooky as hell", "extremely creepy and totally involving." Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has called it a beautifully crafted, elegant show which feels like a European slow burn. He particularly praised the surgical staging and camera work in the M. Night Shyamalan-directed episodes, as well as Rupert Grint's performance.

Lawsuit
In January 2020, Francesca Gregorini filed a lawsuit against the show's producers including Tony Basgallop and M. Night Shyamalan, the production companies involved, and Apple TV+, alleging copyright infringement for her 2013 drama film, The Truth About Emanuel. The Truth About Emanuel is a psychological thriller in which a woman uses a lifelike doll to cope with the loss of her infant, hiring a young girl as a nanny to take care of it. Basgallop and Shyamalan responded that neither had seen her film and that any similarity was a coincidence. They go further in saying that Servant was in development before the creation of Gregorini's film.

On May 28, 2020, a federal judge threw out the copyright lawsuit against Shyamalan and Apple, ruling that the TV show is not similar enough to the film to merit a lawsuit. Gregorini responded that the "ruling is disappointing, but not surprising", and that "the balance of power in the entertainment industry has always favored powerful men and institutions" after the suit was thrown out. On July 21, 2020, the court ordered Gregorini to pay the defendants' attorneys' fees of $162,467. The court emphasized the objective unreasonableness of her claims.

In February 2022, however, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined that the lawsuit was dismissed prematurely, as the discovery steps had not actually been carried out, ruling "'reasonable minds could differ' on whether the stories are substantially similar."