Jessica Chastain limited series The Savant ordered from Apple TV+

March 27, 2023

Based on a Cosmopolitan article, Melissa James Gibson writes the series, directed by Matthew Heineman.

Jessica Chastain is a master at acting, and now she’s getting an entire limited series to prove it. The “Eyes of Tammy Faye” Oscar winner and current “A Doll’s House” star on Broadway will star in “The Savant,” a new limited series ordered by Apple TV+.

No cast members other than Chastain have been announced, and Apple TV+ says storyline and character details are being kept under wraps. However, the show is inspired by the movie that appeared in Cosmopolitan, and original writer Andrea Stanley serves as a consultant.

Apple didn’t specify which of Stanley’s articles the show is based on, but judging by the title, it almost certainly is “He’s Called Savant” a 2019 profile of an anonymous woman who infiltrates online hate groups to track and prevent potential mass shootings.

The eight-episode miniseries is written and hosted by Melissa James Gibson, 2017 Emmy nominee for “House of Cards”; he also wrote for the series and “The Americans” and created and wrote last year’s Netflix limited series “Anatomy of a Scandal” with David E. Kelley. The series is directed by Matthew Heineman, Oscar nominee and Emmy winner for his 2015 documentary Cartel Land.

“The Savant” will be Chastain’s third major television role, following 2021’s “Scenes From a Marriage” opposite Oscar Isaac and last year’s “George & Tammy” opposite Michael Shannon. The movie star is currently leading the acclaimed Broadway revival of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House , directed by Jamie Lloyd, which opened earlier this month and runs through June 10.

In addition to the lead role, Chastain is executive producing “The Savant” with Kelly Carmichael through her Freckle Films production banner; Gibson and Heineman are also executive producers. Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Jessica Giles is executive producer, and Brian Madden, vice president of development for the store’s publisher, Hearst Magazines, is producing. Anonymous Content and Fifth Season serve as studios for the project.

Chastain is repped by CAA, Mosaic and imPRint. Gibson is repped by CAA and management. Heineman is repped by CAA, Cinetic Media and Sloss Eckhouse’s Dasti Haynes. Hearst Magazines is represented by WME.

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