The streaming premiere of an upcoming Apple TV+ thriller series, starring Jessica Chastain, has been pushed in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination's aftermath. The series in question is The Savant, originally supposed to air on Sept. 26.
In a statement, Apple TV+ said: “After careful consideration, we have made the decision to postpone ‘The Savant'. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to releasing the series at a future date.”
What is 'The Savant' about?
While Apple TV+ has yet to give a detailed explanation on the delay, the decision has evidently got to do with the subject matter of the series, in which Chastain plays an undercover investigator and military veteran working at the Anti-Hate alliance, who discreetly looks into online groups to thwart potential terrorist threats in the future. The show reportedly has Chastain's character posing, at one point, as a white nationalist.
The inspiration
A 2019 Cosmopolitan article, titled “Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?", penned by Andrea Stanley, is the inspiration for the show whose title comes from the real-life anonymous sleuth, known as 'The Savant', who is assigned to "stop potential mass murderers from carrying out their plots” and whose “focus [had] been pulled toward the alt-right, a younger, more misogynistic version of the white supremacist movement that’s converting a new generation on message boards and social media.”
Some are baffled by the move, with one critic from entertainment outlet Variety arguing that there isn't a better time to release the show than now. "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," said the writer, adding, "Like Disney/ABC, it seems that Apple TV+ is cowering to a presidential administration that appears to be more concerned with its own dialogue and viewpoints. As 'The Savant' suggests, if we continue to exist in vacuums, unwilling to hear and listen to others while using logic and sound facts, then we are part of the problem."