A new promo teases the upcoming Apple TV+ series Servant, which will have a panel at this year’s New York Comic Con. Created by British writer Tony Basgallop, the psychological thriller is co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Apple TV previously released two Servant promo clips.
Servant focuses on the experiences of two parents and a strange newborn. Toby Kebbell and Lauren Ambrose star as Sean and Dorothy Turner, respectively. In a supporting role, Game of Thrones actress Nell Tiger Free portrays a nanny, Leanne Grayson, who senses that something’s not quite right within the Turner home. English actor Rupert Grint rounds out the main cast. Servant’s visuals are composed by cinematographer Mike Gioulakis, who previously collaborated with Shyamalan for Split and Glass. Gioulakis also filmed It Follows, Under the Silver Lake, and Jordan Peele’s Us.
Apple TV+ released a new Servant promo entitled “The Rocker,” along with the news that the upcoming streaming service will make its debut at NYCC with the series. The Servant panel will be held Thursday Oct. 3 at 8pm ET in the Hammerstein Ballroom and will feature the main cast – Ambrose, Kebbell, Free and Grint – along with Shyamalan and Basgallop. Check out “The Rocker” below.
The clip begins with a wide living room shot, featuring symmetrical mise-en-scène. In center frame, a news broadcast plays on a television as a newborn rocks in a cradle. After a brief graphic identifying Shyamalan’s involvement, a close-up shot reveals the rocking newborn who seems curiously intrigued by the news report. For a dramatic effect, ominous sound design implies that something creepy will soon transpire. Overall, the 25-second Servant promo is aesthetically similar to the previously released “Jericho” clip,” which features the same visuals but includes dialogue from Ambrose’s character. The majority of the new promo includes the Servant main title card and complementary Apple-themed graphics.
After years of box office flops, Shyamalan has once again become popular in mainstream cinema. Recent films like The Visit, Split, and Glass certainly may not be regarded by many as all-time classics, but all three were massive box hits, and helped the filmmaker secure a deal with Universal for two future thrillers. As for Apple TV+, Servant won’t be part of the main launch slate on November 1, but will release in December instead. The Apple TV+ original series lineup includes high-budget productions such as The Morning Show and See.
Like so many films shot by Gioulakis, the new Servant promo “The Rocker” looks fantastic. But Shyamalan skeptics will be curious to see if the filmmaker can make another leap forward, or if his recent financial success will parallel his decade-long decline from 2004 to 2013, evidenced by films such as The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth. Moving forward, hopefully Shyamalan will stay focused on smart storytelling with Servant, and not try to force seemingly profound concepts upon viewers.
