Jessica Chastain will star in the eight-episode limited series “The Savant” at Apple, Variety has learned.
The series is inspired by a true story published in Cosmopolitan in August 2019. Exact plot details for the series are being kept under wraps, but the Cosmopolitan article tells the story of a real woman who has come to be known as “the Savant” as she infiltrates hate groups online to help stop large-scale public attacks.
The series hails from Fifth Season and Anonymous Content. Melissa James Gibson (“Anatomy of a Scandal,” “The Americans”) will serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner under her overall deal with Fifth Season. Matthew Heineman (“A Private War,” “Retrograde”) will direct and executive produce. Chastain will executive produce in addition to starring via Freckle Films. Kelly Carmichael of Freckle Films also executive produces along with Jessica Giles, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan. Brian Madden, senior VP of development for Hearst Magazines, will produce. Andrea Stanley, writer of the original Cosmopolitan feature, will consult.
“The Savant” marks the latest regular TV role for Chastain. She most recently appeared in the limited series “George and Tammy” opposite Michael Shannon, in which they played George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Chastain is primarily known for her feature work. She won the Academy Award for best actress for her work in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” in 2022. She has been nominated two other times — for “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Help.” Her other notable film roles include starring in “The Good Nurse,” “Armageddon Time,” “Molly’s Game,” “Interstellar,” and “A Most Violent Year.”
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Chastain is repped by CAA, Mosaic and imPRint. Gibson is repped by CAA and Manage-ment. Heineman is repped by CAA, Cinetic Media, and Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes. Hearst Magazines is repped by WME.
