Stephen King Calls M. Night Shyamalan's Servant Series "Extremely Creepy"

Horror master Stephen King has good things to say about Servant, an Apple Original series from [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Horror master Stephen King has good things to say about Servant, an Apple Original series from Academy Award-nominated executive producer M. Night Shyamalan (Glass, Split, The Sixth Sense). The half-hour psychological thriller follows a Philadelphia couple in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home. Shyamalan directs the series alongside BAFTA-nominated creator, executive producer and writer Tony Basgallop (Inside Men, What Remains, 24: Live Another Day). The cast of Servant includes Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), Toby Kebbell (Kong: Skull Island, Fantastic Four, Black Mirror), Nell Tiger Free (Game of Thrones), and Rupert Grint (Harry Potter franchise, Snatch).

The series launched last month. Apparently, the King of horror is a big fan. You can see his comments below.

In the series, the couple lost their son Jericho at 13 weeks, and Dorothy took it hard, but was able to make it through that trauma thanks to the doll. The doll's meticulous craftsmanship, and the glee that Jericho's mother has at first "meeting" the doll, are the heart of this teaser, which presumably comes earlier in the story than the one released earlier this week, in which the couple find a nanny.

In that trailer, which you can see at the link above, the new nanny -- Leanne, played by Nell Tiger Free -- doesn't seem to mind treating the doll as a normal child, and Sean is perplexed by this and wants to know where Dorothy found the girl. This paves the way for several more flashes of footage that suggest something isn't right with the new nanny, but also that the men are hiding something else, with the narration saying "what if she wakes up" and another lady asking "what did those boys tell you about what happened."

There seems to be an implication here that while Dorothy and Sean are maybe not choosing the absolute best way to deal with their grief, it's actually Leanne who poses a danger to the family. No clue, just yet, on how or why.

The series has already been renewed for a second season -- not much of a surprise considering how keen Apple+ is to load up on high profile content and the level of interest fans have had in what Shyamalan can do in longer-form storytelling.

Servant launched on Apple TV+ on November 28th.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of