Matthew Rhys (The Americans, Perry Mason) has been tapped as a lead opposite Rachel Brosnahan and Jack Reynor in the upcoming second season of the Apple TV+ legal drama Presumed Innocent.
The second installment is inspired by Dissection of a Murder, the debut legal thriller novel by Jo Murray. It centers on an ambitious defense attorney (Brosnahan) who takes on a high-profile case. Rhys plays her husband, the prosecutor on the case; Reynor plays her client, the defendant.
Led by Jake Gyllenhaal, Season 1 was inspired by Scott Turow’s courtroom thriller of the same name. It tells the story of a horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorneys’ office when one of its own is suspected of the crime. The book was published in 1987 and was turned into a 1990 feature starring Harrison Ford as Rusty Sabich, the same role Gyllenhaal took on.
The Season 1 cast also includes Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, Elizabeth Marvel, Renate Reinsve, Peter Sarsgaard, O-T Fagbenle, Chase Infiniti, Lily Rabe, Nana Mensah, Matthew Alan and Kingston Rumi Southwick.
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The show’s freshman season received four Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Gyllenhaal; Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Camp; Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Sarsgaard; and, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Negga.
The title comes from Bad Robot Productions and David E. Kelley Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. Kelley serves as showrunner on Season 2 alongside Erica Lipez. Abrams and Rachel Rusch Rich executive produce for Bad Robot. Kelley executive produces through David E. Kelley Productions alongside Matthew Tinker and Lipez. Dustin Thomason also executive produces.
In addition to starring, Brosnahan will serve as executive producer. Gyllenhaal executive produces under his Nine Stories banner. Scott Turow, author of “Presumed Innocent,” and Joe Murray, author of “Dissection of a Murder,” co-executive produce.
Presumed Innocent is Rhys’ second project with Apple TV+, following a leading role in the upcoming 10-episode series Widow’s Bay, from creator Katie Dippold. Rhys also executive produces the project about a mysteriously cursed New England island and its superstitious citizens, led by a mayor (Rhys) who refuses to believe their warnings. He will next be seen in the Netflix limited series The Beast in Me, starring opposite Claire Danes, which drops on November 13, and voicing a character in Invincible‘s fourth season, premiering in 2026. Rhys is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and United Agents.