“The next big crime drama”: The Savant is the "tense” Jessica Chastain series that'll linger with you for days

Looking for your next crime drama fix? Let us introduce you to The Savant, the new Apple TV+ series that'll linger with you for days after the credits roll. While this year's standout series, Adolescence, explored the world of incel culture, The Savant is diving into an equally complex subject: the dark underbelly of online hate groups. Told through a chillingly different lens and with Jessica Chastain leading the cast, we'd recommend putting it straight to the top of your watchlist.

The upcoming crime drama will see Chastain play an undercover investigator known only as “The Savant”. Her mission? To infiltrate online hate groups and stop domestic extremists before their violent plans become reality. But "The Savant" is also a mother, and she must find a way of juggling the pressures of family life with her secret – and increasingly dangerous – online existence.

Inspired by an investigative feature published in Cosmopolitan US about a real-life woman who worked to dismantle misogynistic extremist networks, the story has inspirational, albeit unsettling, real-world roots. With the series set to arrive on our screens next month, here's everything you need to know about The Savant, including the cast, plot and release date.

What is The Savant about?

Described by Apple TV+ as a "tense' thriller, the series centres on an undercover investigator known as “The Savant” (played by Jessica Chastain) who infiltrates online groups to intercept domestic extremists before they carry out acts of violence. The series is based on an article published in Cosmopolitan US in 2019 by journalist Andrea Stanley, titled ‘Is It Possible To Stop A Mass Shooting Before It Happens?’.

Writer Andrea Stanley, who met the real-life woman behind the story (also referred to as “the Savant”), has served as a consultant on the show, lending her insight and expertise. This unnamed woman, Stanley writes, has become one of the US’s premier investigators of white supremacist extremism, providing the FBI with intelligence about some of the world’s most dangerous men.

What will happen in The Savant?

It depends how closely the series follows the Cosmopolitan article, but in the piece, we hear that the real-life Savant has tipped off the FBI with some dangerous would-be killers. She lives in a typical suburban neighbourhood (her real location can’t be named for safety reasons), so perhaps we’ll see a similar setting for the series. Plot details for the series are being kept under wraps at this stage, however.

“The system can’t stop what it doesn’t see coming,” Apple TV+ teased in an Instagram post. First-look images from the show also reveals some clues, with Jessica Chastain seen sat behind a computer in a dimly-lit room, while another sees her attending a formal dinner alongside fellow star Nnamdi Asomugha.

Who’s in the cast of The Savant?

The cast of The Savant includes:

• Jessica Chastain as "The Savant"
• Nnamdi Asomugha
• James Badge Dale
• Cole Doman
• Michael Mosley
• Dagmara Domińczyk
• Jordana Spiro
• Trinity Lee Shirley
• Toussaint Francois Battiste
• Hannah Gross
• David Wilson Barnes

Is The Savant any good?

It certainly should be. Jessica Chastain is an Oscar-winner (she won Best Actress for 2021 film The Eyes of Tammy Faye), so we can expect good things from her performance. She also serves as the show’s executive producer, so she’s clearly invested in its success. The Savant was written by Melissa James Gibson, of House of Cards and Anatomy of a Scandal fame, too, upping our expectations even further.

How can I watch The Savant?

Good news - we have a release date! The Savant will launch on Apple TV+ on Friday 26th September, with the first two episodes. New episodes will air every Friday until 7th November.

What other crime dramas can I watch now?

Aside from Netflix’s Adolescence, there’s a ton of great crime material to get though. You can check out our pick of the best crime dramas to watch now here. One that we're particularly excited about the arrival of is ITV’s true-story drama I Fought The Law, which stars GH cover star Sheridan Smith as Ann Ming, who goes in search of justice after her daughter is murdered.