Don’t Sleep on Apple TV+’s ‘Servant’

When you start a new season of a beloved show, you typically know what to expect. Characters will maintain the alliances that left off, and though the circumstances may become grander, their motivations will probably stay the same. That has never been the case with Servant. In its third season, Tony Basgallop and M. Night Shyamalan’s horror series continues to be as twisting, difficult to grasp, and creepy as the creature it’s named after.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching Servant, you’re only robbing yourself of perverse joy and some of the most gorgeous cinematography currently on television. The series started with Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) and Sean (Toby Kebbell), a wealthy Philadelphia couple who was struggling through the tragic death of their newborn baby. But when Dorothy hired a nanny to take care of the reborn doll she had been using to cope with her loss, the unthinkable happened. Baby Jericho returned. The crux of the series rests on that haunting mystery: What is baby Jericho, and what did Leanne the nanny (Nell Tiger Free) do to give the Turners their child?

Most executions of this premise would wallow in that central mystery. That was the path Season 1 took, an installment filled with hushed, disbelieving conversations between Sean and Dorothy’s snarky brother Julian (Rupert Grint). But as Servant has progressed, it has accepted baby Jericho whole cloth as it has evolved into something far greater than the sum of its sharp script, incredible actors, and haunting directorial work. Servant has transformed from just a mystery, into a full saga filled with several tonally distinct yet complimentary stories. These varying branches were what Season 2 focused on, a season that drifted from a high-pressure stakeout to deranged kidnapping horror to buddy comedy antics in a way that always felt both effortless, surprising yet inevitable.

These seasons were so unrelentingly shocking, it felt as if Servant wouldn’t be able to surprise us again. And yet Season 3 picks up to show us something we have truly never seen before: Dorothy, Sean, Julian, and Leanne all part of the same functional family. It’s a reconciliation that’s never fully seen on screen but feels completely lived in as this season picks up three months after Season 2’s finale. Most surprisingly of all, it’s the existence of this hard-fought union that raises Servant‘s terror to new highs. For two seasons now, we’ve seen these people lie, scheme, torture, stalk, and physically fight each other to get the life they want. Now with baby Jericho back in Dorothy and Sean’s house and Leanne’s cult at bay, they finally have it. And the pressure to keep that peace is suffocating.

When M. Night Shyamalan first became a household name, he was known as the master of twist endings. Servant has elevated that reputation to a new high. From moment to moment, you never know which direction Servant is going to take. Is there a new betrayal on the horizon? A new romance? A musical number? A jarring standalone episode? Anything is possible. It’s that dedication to constant unpredictability that makes this show filled with religious cults and gross culinary creations so special, and a must watch.

The first episode of Servant Season 3 premieres on Apple TV+ Friday, January 21. New episodes will be released weekly. 

Watch Servant on Apple TV+