Apple TV+ will premiere its upcoming limited series The Savant on Friday, September 26, with the release of two episodes. New episodes of the Jessica Chastain-led series, which she also executive produces, will air every Friday through November 7.
From writer/executive producer/showrunner Melissa James Gibson, Fifth Season and Anonymous Content, the tense and thrilling series follows an undercover investigator known as “The Savant” (Chastain), who infiltrates online hate groups to stop domestic extremists before they act.
The 8-episode TV series is inspired by the true story published by Cosmopolitan in 2019, written by Andrea Stanley. The story titled “Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?” profiles a woman who the interviewer calls “K,” a former police officer and Marine who helps the FBI keep track of dangerous men online who are potential threats to national security.
K, a married investigator with a child, is also known as the savant for her ability to suss out men who are on the verge of committing atrocities not unlike El Paso Walmart mass shooter Patrick Crusius, Columbine mass murderers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, and Orlando’s Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen. The feature confirms K was directly involved in aiding the FBI in the arrest of Illinois man Michael Finton, who planned to bomb the local Paul Findley Federal Building in 2009.
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Due to the extreme danger K is exposed to, she protects herself and her family by flying under the radar. She doesn’t have much of a social presence, doesn’t use her real name, and only a select few know what her real job is. For the same reasons, one could posit, that we will never know if K contributed to the production of Apple’s The Savant unless it’s intentionally revealed.
Nnamdi Asomugha plays K’s husband in the new limited series. Chastain and Asomugha previously worked opposite one another in the Netflix thriller The Good Nurse.
The cast is also led by Cole Doman, Jordana Spiro, Trinity Lee Shirley, Toussaint Francois Battiste, and guest star Pablo Schreiber. James Badge Dale will also appear in a major recurring role.
Chastain and Kelly Carmichael executive produce through the former’s Freckle Films banner alongside Alan Poul, Melissa James Gibson, and Matthew Heineman, who also directs. David Levine and Garrett Kemble serve as executive producers for Anonymous Content. Stanley serves as a consultant.