Last September, in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Apple TV+ delayed the streaming premiere of its new limited series “The Savant,” starring Jessica Chastain. Chastain plays a top-secret undercover investigator known only as “The Savant,” who infiltrates online hate groups to take them down from the inside.
“After careful consideration, we have made the decision to postpone “The Savant,” an Apple TV+ spokesperson said in a statement. “We appreciate your understanding and look forward to releasing the series at a future date.”
While the show does explore politically motivated plots against specific targets—a thematic overlap with Kirk’s murder—the series bears no direct resemblance to Kirk’s assassination. I just didn’t understand the need to postpone.
The show is a work of fiction developed over years. Delaying the premiere punished the cast, crew, and audience for a real-world event that the series had no connection to. Streaming platforms regularly release content that deals with violence, crime, or politics without canceling or delaying it. Apple’s move appeared to be more about optics than necessity.
Regardless, some believed the show would never air, but now, not only is Chastain telling Variety that it is going to see the light of day, the outlet has also confirmed through its sources that a July premiere is now being eyed for “The Savant.”
“Before it was like, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to see it,’ but now I can say, ‘We’re going to see it,’” Chastain tells Variety.
The premiere will come ten months after the delay, which should have never happened. Critics had been sent advance screeners and had reviews written, ready to publish, only to be told to hold off until further notice.
The delay reminded me of the days following the September 11 attacks, when Hollywood went into a collective freakout and began delaying—and, at times, erasing—imagery from upcoming films—remember “Glitter”? “Spider-Man” had its teaser trailer pulled because it showed the hero ensnaring the Twin Towers, and “Men in Black II” removed shots of the towers from its promotional material. Even “The Sum of All Fears” delayed its release and digitally altered imagery of nuclear explosions.
Malkovich, a two-time Oscar nominee, fought back tears while the audience cheered him, which has become a first-stop tradition to kick-start an Oscar campaign — tears need to be shed!