She’s played heavily-mascaraed televangelists, stoic CIA analysts, sweet Southern socialites and an underground poker boss — now Academy Award-winning actress Jessica Chastain is adding “The Savant” to her list of memorable performances, the titular role of the upcoming crime thriller miniseries for Apple TV Plus.
Inspired by an August 2019 article by Andrea Stanley, entitled “Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?” and published by Cosmopolitan, the limited series has Chastain playing an undercover investigator who infiltrates online hate groups in an effort to stop domestic extremists before they act,” per the show’s logline.
It marks the performer’s first major TV role since leading 2022’s “George & Tammy,” in which she portrayed country-music icon Tammy Wynette.
“I’ve played real people that I could talk to, like Maya from ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’” Chastain said in a December 2023 interview with The Saturday Paper. “A lot of people came out and claimed to be Maya from ‘Zero Dark Thirty’; none of them have been [her]. I spoke to her before I played the role … I’ve also played characters where I didn’t have the benefit of meeting with them and working with them, like Tammy Wynette.
“With ‘The Savant,’ I didn’t feel that it was as important to get all of her mannerisms because she’s undercover. I wouldn’t want to look and behave exactly like her, because I want to keep her hidden.”
And after much delay — the streaming service had ordered the concept from Fifth Season all the way back in March 2023 — the eight-episode series will officially premiere on Friday, September 26 with its first two installments. Individual eps will drop weekly thereafter, culminating on Friday, November 7.
The “tense and thrilling” drama was created by Melissa James Gibson, an Emmy-nominated showrunner and writer known for her work on “House of Cards” and “The Americans. ” Along with Chastain, the cast of “The Savant” includes Nnamdi Asomugha, Cole Doman, Jordana Spiro, Trinity Lee Shirley, Toussaint Francois Battiste, and guest star Pablo Schreiber. Andrea Stanley, who wrote the Cosmopolitan story that serves as the show’s source material, is a consultant.
Tom’s Guide will keep you posted on all things related to “The Savant,” including teaser trailers, plot points, character details and more.
