Apple Pauses Its New Show About Domestic Terrorism

So it appears Apple TV+ was going to release a new show this Friday called The Savant. The show stars actress Jessica Chastain as an investigator who profiles and identifies would-be domestic terrorists in an attempt to stop them before they commit violent crimes. But today Apple announced it would be postponing the release of the show, apparently out of concern the the subject matter is too raw after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

“After careful consideration, we have made the decision to postpone ‘The Savant,’” an Apple TV+ spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. “We appreciate your understanding and look forward to releasing the series at a future date.”

Based on Cosmopolitan’s 2019 article “Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?,” “The Savant” follows Jodi Goodwin (Chastain), a top-secret investigator (and a veteran) who, as an employee of the fictional Anti-Hate Alliance, infiltrates online hate groups in an effort to stop large-scale attacks of domestic terrorism. The series, adapted by Melissa James Gibson, is based on the real woman profiled in the Cosmo story, but carefully conceals her identity. On the show, Jodi lives in a Cincinnati suburb, and her husband, Charlie (Nnamdi Asomugha), who is Black, is deployed overseas.

I haven’t read the story that prompted the show but it’s pretty clear what type of domestic terrorism it’s focused on.

I’d heard about the Savant from one of her colleagues at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), where she works closely with law enforcement agencies…

On sites like Gab, Reddit, 4chan, 8chan, and VK, the new white supremacists and misogynists hatch conspiracy theories that take off on Twitter and make it on fake news sites like InfoWars and even occasionally Fox News. They serve up “constant peer pressure to do something criminal,” says K. They turn hate speech into hate crimes:

The author of this story at Variety, Aramide Tinubu, says Apple is making a mistake because a show about white supremacist domestic violence is exactly what we need right now. She goes on to endorse Jimmy Kimmel’s comments connecting Charlie Kirk’s killer to the right, calling them “frank but fair.”

Having watched the eight-episode series for review — which was set to be under embargo until Sept. 25 — it’s clear that “The Savant” is precisely the type of show America needs right now. It looks at a sector of mostly white male individuals who believe that America belongs to them. Fueled by hate, bigotry, xenophobia and misogyny, they talk cruelly and candidly online about enacting harm and violence toward individuals or “others” who they feel are unworthy of being in “their” country. Nowhere in the show does it mention Donald Trump’s name, and other than depicting white nationalists in a negative light, “The Savant” is a straightforward, non-controversial character study — and a well-paced thriller — about one woman trying to stop domestic terrorism.

It seems absolutely maddening that Apple TV+ would pull such a move, especially following the disaster that ABC and its parent company Disney faced after yanking “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air on Sept. 17, following his frank but fair comments after the death of Charlie Kirk.

Frank but fair? Um, no, sorry that’s not it. His comments were angry and based on a partisan lie with no basis in fact. And based on this review, I suspect The Savant is just Apple TV’s attempt to promulgate the same message Jimmy Kimmel was trying to deliver, i.e. that all domestic terrorism is right-wing violence.

But as we seem to have proven once again today, that’s not true. So, Apple has decided that maybe now is not the time to echo Jimmy Kimmel’s lie about political violence. That’s probably a good call on their part, but Jessica Chastain is not happy about it. She posted a lengthy statement on Instagram.

I want to say how much I value my partnership with Apple. They’ve been incredible collaborators and I deeply respect their team. That said, I wanted to reach out and let you know that we’re not aligned on the decision to pause the release of The Savant. In the last five years since we’ve been making the show, we’ve seen an unfortunate amount of violence in the United States: the kidnapping attempt on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer; the January 6th attack on the Capitol; the assassination attempts on President Trump; the political assassinations of Democratic representatives in Minnesota; the attack on Speaker Pelosi’s husband; the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk; the recent shooting at an ABC affiliate station in California; and over 300 school shootings across this country. These incidents, though far from encompassing the full range of violence witnessed in the United States, illustrate a broader mindset that crosses the political spectrum and must be confronted. I’ve never shied away from difficult subjects, and while I wish this show wasn’t so relevant, unfortunately it is. The Savant is about the heroes who work every day to stop violence before it happens, and honoring their courage feels more urgent than ever. While I respect Apple’s decision to pause the release for now, 

I remain hopeful the show will reach audiences soon. Until then, I’m wishing safety and strength for everyone, and I’ll let you know if and when The Savant is released.

So we’ll see if Apple reverses course or if they decide to avoid controversy for a few weeks. Here’s the trailer for the show.

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