How psycho do you like your psychological thrillers? It’s a personal call, sort of like spicy food.
Think of this review, then, as a caution on the menu: “Servant,” a new psychological thriller series that began streaming Nov. 28 on Apple TV Plus, is extra disturbing. Bearing the imprimatur of M. Night Shyamalan, the film director known for his twist endings and uneven output, “Servant” is difficult to watch and fully process, and it’s nobody’s idea of a holiday treat. Yet it is also undeniably addictive. It’s next to impossible to quit in the middle of it, as the viewer becomes desperate to know how it will turn out.
“Servant,” created and written by Tony Basgallop, does what all good psychological thrillers must do: It exploits one of our worst fears. I would say that anyone who has lost a baby — or worries about losing a baby, or suffers from postpartum depression, or simply has the new-parent heebie-jeebies about everything and anything baby — might want to take a pass on this one.
Lauren Ambrose, still remembered as Claire Fisher in “Six Feet Under” all those years ago, stars as Dorothy Turner, a Philadelphia TV news reporter who lives in a lovely townhouse with her husband, Sean (Toby Kebbell), a highly regarded chef, consultant and foodie influencer. The Turners have recently experienced the loss of their infant son, Jericho — the details of which are kept vague for many episodes. In fact, one begins to wonder if there ever was an actual baby, because Dorothy deals with her grief by caring for a realistic baby doll.
