SERVANT Season Two

UK/US Apple TV+, streaming now Creator Tony Basgallop

Cast Lauren Ambrose,

Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free, Rupert Grint

Whether the show left you spellbound or scratching your head, there’s no denying that Servant’s initial run firmly leaned into its weird concept: a couple (Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell’s Dorothy and Sean Turner) whose baby has apparently died and been replaced with a weird doll to help them mourn, discover that he’s mysteriously alive again, potentially thanks to quiet, odd nanny Leanne (Nell Tiger Free).

The first season successfully wrapped mystery and heightened weirdness around emotional trauma, and ended with Leanne going on the lam with the living Jericho. For the second, the dial is turned much more towards dark humour, as the search for them continues. While that functions within the framework of the show, it also weakens it to a degree.

The cast remains adept at finding the humanity amid the odd tone, with Rupert Grint as Dorothy’s louche, scheming brother Julian managing to make both versions of the show work; but the filmmaking has lost some of its shadowy style, which just highlights the sillier aspects. Servant certainly remains persuasive (and occasionally baffling), and the team behind it earns points for trying to evolve the feel, but it loses some of its heart and warped power in the transition. James White