M. Night Shyamalan already knows how Servant will end. The AppleTV+ series’ first debuted last year. Its second season is set to premiere on January 15, with Apple ordering a third season before it airs. Servant stars Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free, and Rupert Grint as the four central characters whose lives are upended when Free’s Leanne Grayson moves in with the young couple, Dorothy (Ambrose) and Sean Turner (Kebbell).
Servant dishes up Shyamalan’s usual psychological horror to great effect. Set mostly within the couple’s Philadelphia home, the second season was able to film during the pandemic because of its limited cast and settings. That cast is expected to expand, though, with the second season exploring more of Leanne’s mysterious background. After a cliffhanger ending that saw Leanne kidnap baby Jericho, the second season looks to pick up right where the first left off.
Shyamalan is known for his twisty endings, and Servant‘s first season was no different. Shyamalan may have a different end in mind, though, as he heads into the third season – the director/producer told ComicBook that he already has an ending in mind for the series. The director says that the end was not always set in stone. He reveals that he was unsure of where the show was heading when production on the series started. During season 2, though, Shyamalan realized he needed to have an ending in mind to keep working on the series.
I had a kind of aspirational end point, after season one, when we were doing season one but then season two was when I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore until we know where we’re going.’ I have to know where we’re going. I can’t keep making episodes and not know exactly where we’re heading and why this person is there and what they’re saying means this. So, we worked it all out and I spent the pandemic the first, whatever, months when we were all home, everyone was shut down and locked down, just writing out everything I wanted and dreamed for the show for the remainder.
It’s reassuring to know that Shyamalan has an ending in mind. While the director may be known for his twist endings, not all of them have been great. One can’t help but think of The Happening when imagining the worst possible outcome for a show like Servant. That films big reveal involved suicide-inducing killer plants. While Servant is heading in a different direction, there’s no telling what Shyamalan will pull out of his hat.
The first season remained pretty grounded in its gritty realism, but the second season’s trailer hints at more supernatural elements to come. With an ending in mind, Shyamalan is less likely to go off the rails and ruin what has come before. Show’s with no ending in mind portend bad things to come – ask any Lost fan how they feel about the conclusion of that long-running show. With Servant‘s limited scope and short seasons, the show is much more manageable than a sprawling network television show. Hopefully, Shyalaman can nail the ending.
