Servant

Starring: Lauren Ambrose (40 episodes), Toby Kebbell (40 episodes), Nell Tiger Free (40 episodes), Rupert Grint (40 episodes), Tony Revolori (13 episodes), Boris McGiver (11 episodes), Molly Griggs (11 episodes), Todd Waring (9 episodes), Billy Vargas (9 episodes), Katie Lee Hill (6 episodes), Joshua D'Jesus (6 episodes), Jerrika Hinton (5 episodes), Barbara Kingsley (5 episodes), Denny Dillon (5 episodes), Victoria Cartagena (4 episodes), M. Night Shyamalan (uncredited)(1 episode)
Directed by: Ishana Shyamalan (6 episodes), Nimrod Antal (5 episodes), N. Night Shyamalan (5 episodes), Dylan Holmes Williams (4 episodes), Logan George (3 episodes), Daniel Sackheim (2 episodes), John Dahl (1 episode)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Drama, Horror
2019-2023

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After the death of their baby, a woman (Lauren Ambrose) falls apart and her husband (Toby Kebbell) and her brother (Rupert Grint) hire a nanny (Nell Scott Free) to care for a doll, meant to psychologically replace the lost child.

Review:

Tim: I first got into Servant because I was intrigued to see what M. Night Shyamalan would do with a television series. He directed 5 episodes of the series, including the Pilot. 5 years and 4 seasons later, I've strongly mixed feelings on this series. On the one hand, it was atmospheric, unexpected, features some strong performances, and felt fairly unique in the television landscape. On the other hand, not a whole lot happens in four seasons. As the series winded down, this was my biggest complaint and it gnawed at me. Sure, there was a lot of talking. But, what exactly happened in this series? What changed about the characters? How did their stories evolve? In the end, it feels like it wasn't quite enough. So, while I really enjoyed aspects of this series, it ultimately felt like a letdown.

On the positive side, though- Servant gives a chance for the four primary cast members to shine. Every episode featured numerous opportunities for them to actually act. That's mostly what we got for a total of 40 episodes. I hated Toby Kebbell before this series started- he was pretty bad in Ben-Hur and the worst Doctor Doom of all time. Throughout the course of this series, though, that changed. He's actually a fairly talented actor and he gave the most consistently good performances. Oh, to be fair, there's nothing great about his work here- but it was consistently good and I enjoyed his work. I struggled a lot with Lauren Ambrose. Her performance never felt right to me. I think she's a talented actress, but it always felt like she was acting as Dorothy. Her character was nutty, over-the-top, too annoying to be believed. I grew to very much not like the character and whenever Ambrose would appear on screen, I'd cringe a bit. I loved seeing Rupert Grint play a character tonally different than Ron Weasley. I know it's unfair to still compare him to that iconic role, but that's the reality. Grint seemed to relish playing this role and he worked extremely well with the rest of the cast. Whenever he was playing off one of the other primary cast members, you knew you were in for a treat. I do have to acknowledge that Nell Tiger Free was the standout of the series, though. Leanne was the most fascinating character and she endears this character to us over four seasons. The script didn't always handle her character right, but Free is excellent in nearly everything she does. We should all see much more of Free, this felt like a standout performance. When I think back on this series, Free is who first comes to mind.

The supporting cast was solid. It was nice seeing Tony Revolori in a small recurring role. Boris McGiver was outstanding- his 11 episodes were always engaging and exciting. I did like seeing Jerrika Hinton, although I don't really remember what happened to her character. The supporting cast had some talent, but they were all kept to the margins- the series focuses almost exclusively on the four main cast members.

Like a lot of series, this one felt like it kind of petered out. The first season was the best, the second still intriguing. I felt a bit of fatigue during the third season and by the fourth, I was ready for it to be over. It got increasingly hard to believe as the series progressed. The story is interesting, but it felt unfocused. It seemed like there was no compelling, consistent vision for the story. It meanders forward and eventually concludes and I wonder if any of it really mattered. I was often marginally invested in the story and despite a few strong moments, the series mostly felt average-to-underwhelming. I always loved the intense focus on food and drink- it plays an oddly outsized role in most episodes. I enjoyed seeing these cast together and seeing how they played off each other. The story felt glacial from a narrative movement perspective. It's cool that Ishana Shyamalan directed the most episodes (6) and her father did 5, but I'm not sure there were many standout episodes, regardless of who directed them.

I suppose in the end, I'm glad I watched Servant. It's very unlike most series I watch and the four main characters were quite memorable. I'll always appreciate Nell Tiger Free and Rupert Grint for what they did here, and I can somewhat enjoy Toby Kebbell now. But, as a series, this is one I was glad to see wrapped. I sort of liked it, but it's heavily flawed and its talkiness makes it too forgettable.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Yellowjackets, Fringe, Castle Rock