Heres a quick riddle for you, dear reader. What do you get when you cross a fake child, a creepy nanny, and the City of Brotherly Love? Why, you get executive producer M. Night Shyamalan's new horror series on Apple TV+, of course!
Created by Tony Basgallop, Servant doesn't premiere on the streaming service until Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 28), but reviews are currently trickling online, and they sound like a much-needed shot in the arm for Apple after the somewhat tepid reactions to the company's launch titles like See and (to a more positive extent) For All Mankind.
While some critics find it hard to envision the series going for six seasons (Shyamalan, director of the first two episodes, said at NYCC that he sees it as a six-year installment plan), they find Servant to be one of the best shows on Apple TV+ so far. Scary, bizarre, and filled with mysteries that result in the director's patented twists, it is a sure and promising sign that the subscription service is certainly willing to take major risks with its original programming.
Ok, so what's this thing even about? Well, you might want to sit down as we describe the basic premise because it's as weird as they come. Servant follows Philadelphia couple, Sean and Dorothy Turner (Toby Kebbell and Lauren Ambrose), who hire a strange nanny (Nell Tiger Free) to look after their toddler, Jericho.
So far so good, right? Time to strap in because here's where things get surreal: Jericho actually died when he was a few weeks old and in order to help her cope with the terrible loss, Dorothy got a beautifully-crafted fake baby made, which she now sees as real. The appearance of the nanny, Leanne Grayson, only takes us further down the rabbit hole.
"Servant is far from perfect. It requires a ton of suspension of disbelief, does way too much mystery-wise, and may be insensitive to mothers who have lost children. But it's creepy, compulsively watchable fun, with a distinct personality. It shows that Apple is willing to make shows that are pretty dark, pretty risky, and not particularly aspirational. It's a beautiful house, but the people who live there are lunatics who hate each other. That's the kind of setup you always want from a psychological thriller, no matter who's making it." -Liam Mathews, TV Guide
In our news wrap Monday, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is resigning amid allegations he used state resources to hids a romantic affair with an aide. Also, a state of emergency has gone into effect in Egypt after a suicide bombing Sunday that left at least 45 people dead.
Neil Gorsuch has been sworn in as the 113th Supreme Court justice. The 49-year-old former appeals court judge fills the nearly 14-month vacancy created by the death of Antonin Scalia, and it restores the court's conservative majority.
During a White House Rose Garden ceremony, Gorsuch received praise from President Trump, and took the second of two oaths, this one administered by Justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch once served as clerk.
And to the American people, I am humbled by the trust placed in me today. I will never forget that to whom much is given, much will be expected. And I promise you that I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great nation.
In the day's other news, there's word the governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley, is resigning amid allegations he used state resources to hide a romantic affair with an aide. Jail records in Montgomery County showed that Bentley was booked today on two campaign and ethics charges. Alabama's lieutenant governor, Kay Ivey, is expected to succeed him.
All these charges, as you mentioned, relate to his alleged inappropriate relationship with his former top political aide, Rebekah Mason. The legislature here a year ago initiated impeachment articles against the governor.
And, as a matter of fact, hearings in those articles of impeachment started today, while, at the same time, officials were behind closed doors negotiating a resignation deal with Governor Bentley under which he would plead to lesser charges, thus the campaign finance charges that you talked about.
He said that he and his former top political aide never had a physical affair, that he made inappropriate remarks to her, and he apologized for those a year ago. He has also insisted that he has done nothing illegal in the furtherance of that alleged affair.
So, once these articles of impeachment were brought, the legislature basically had to create the process from scratch. It began doing that about a year ago. It then hired a special counsel to investigate the charges against the governor. And it was finally ready to present those findings in the hearings that started today.
He had to go to the Montgomery County Jail to be booked and fingerprinted on these misdemeanor charges as part of the process, and then he was expected to go over to the Capitol and meet the press, where he was formally expected to resign.
Meantime, a state of emergency has gone into effect in Egypt, after yesterday's Palm Sunday suicide bombings at two Coptic Christian churches. At least 45 people were killed in the ISIS-claimed attacks in Alexandria and Tanta. Mourners carried wooden coffins through the streets today, as relatives began burying their loved ones. It was the deadliest day for Egyptian Christians in decades.
Officials in China are calling for restraint today, amid heightening tensions around the Korean Peninsula. The comments come after a U.S. Navy strike group moved closer to the area over the weekend, in a show of force.
HUA CHUNYING, Spokeswoman, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (through translator): China has been paying close attention to the development of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. We think that, under current conditions, the parties involved should exercise restraint, and should avoid conducting activities that will deteriorate and escalate difficulties in this region.
There's been another staffing shuffle at the National Security Council. It's been widely reported K.T. McFarland, one of President Trump's top national security advisers, will be reassigned to become the next U.S. ambassador to Singapore. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has been reorganizing his team since his predecessor, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign.
United Airlines faced public outcry today, after video posted online showed a passenger being dragged off an overbooked flight in Chicago. In the cell phone sequence, authorities pull a screaming man from his seat, and then drag him down the aisle by his arms, as other passengers shout.
Wells Fargo is clawing back an additional $75 million from two former executives over an account fraud scandal. A new report out today from the bank's board said an aggressive sales culture led employees to open millions of checking and credit accounts without customers' permission. It said former CEO John Stumpf and community bank executive Carrie Tolstedt were both involved or tolerated aggressive sales marketing over a period of years.
The 2017 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced today in New York. Writer Colson Whitehead won the prize for fiction for his book "The Underground Railroad." David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post won in the National Reporting category for investigating President Trump's philanthropy claims.
And Spain's Sergio Garcia has ended his golf major drought. The 37-year-old won the coveted Green Jacket at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, last night. Garcia rallied to beat Englishman Justin Rose on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. It comes 18 years after he joined the professional golf tour.
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