'Servant' — the Apple TV+ exclusive series — is back for Season 3.
'Servant' returns. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
In case you haven’t caught up with the show just yet (you must get started!), the story revolves around Dorothy and Sean Turner, a couple from Philadelphia who hired a nanny for their baby Jericho.
But the thing is, in an unspeakable tragedy, the newborn had passed away. The loss of her son caused Dorothy to suffer terrible distress. To assuage the catatonic state she was in, transitional object therapy took place. Dorothy would take care – like, really take care – of a doll who takes the place of her son.
Have you met Jericho, the doll? (Image credit: Apple TV+)
And so, it was the doll that they were hiring the nanny for. Leanne, the young, religious nanny, who is already pretty creepy in her appearance and mannerism, seems to play along.
She treats Jericho, the doll as if it was a real-life baby. That does not sit well with Sean and his brother-in-law, Julian Pearce. The next thing you know, the doll is no more and an actual living baby comes into the picture. Well, it goes on and off like that.
Season 2 left us with more questions on the supernatural power possessed by Leanne and on the Church of the Lesser Saints cult. In essence, for Season 3, “Baby Jericho is back in the Turner household and ‘servant’ Leanne may no longer be welcome.”
It’s a gripping series that has us on the edge of our seats waiting for the whole of its third chapter. We bet that many who follow the series feel the same way!
We channelled that energy in our interviews with the mastermind behind the chilling show, Director M. Night Shyamalan, and its brilliant cast featuring Rupert Grint (Julian Pearce), Toby Kebbell (Sean Turner), Lauren Ambrose (Dorothy Turner) and Nell Free Tiger (Leanne Grayson).
The Making Of The Much-Anticipated Season 3
M. Night Shyamalan thinks “Servant” Season 3 is the best season yet. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
Shyamalan believes that the audience will be very happy with the latest season that is to come.
“Well, I think they’ll be very happy. I think it's our best season for many reasons, but I think audience members will find it particularly satisfying because it's very visceral, it's very physical. This is the season that the show becomes openly genre.
"It starts to move into genre in a full, unapologetic way and they'll see that transformation, I think, as exciting and shocking as it starts turning into that.”
Shyamalan also acknowledged that they have been “so lucky.”
He also noted that the multiplying viewership – that continues as audience members come across the show and recommend it to others – is a major contributing factor to the greenlight they have received for the fourth season of “Servant” ahead of the premiere of its third season.
'Servant' Season 3 has a lot to offer. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
Responding to Rojak Daily’s question on how he makes sure that Servant does not suffer the same fate as many other shows that lose momentum by the time they reach the third season, the 51-year-old stated that it lies in the “incredible amount of integrity in everything we do.”
“I tell the filmmakers and everyone that we work with that we’re sushi makers. Every ingredient – how we make the rice, what we choose, each fish, where we get it from, how we do it – everything is meaningful because we're in the game of resonance.
"And so, I don't want to just distract you and make you feel something with sugar content. It’s about the resonance. I believe in the audience's EQ being extremely high and so, they can feel that.
A quality production. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
The award-winning director further stated, “Every shot is drawn out. I put in every sound effect. I'm deciding the footstep, not somebody else – me. I'm deciding it. I decide the colour of the sweater. You know, I'm doing that. Why am I doing all that sushi-like thing? It's because I believe you are feeling that and it's resonant. And it's not –I don't want it to be transactional. I want you to feel it and remember it and the audience reaction is playing out.
“I have found that in film. That is the case as we have very strong holds in all the countries in the world from my movies. And I find that now with the TV show that you guys can taste the difference between ordinary rice and rice made perfectly.”
Fun fact: Philly chef Drew DiTomo also makes a return to 'Servant' in the third season as a food advisor for the show. His brilliance brings another set of exquisite menu that adds value to the portrayal of Sean, an esteemed professional in the culinary world.
Cheesus Crust! Season 3 also promises great food content. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
What’s In A Role
Just like making great sushi, it is essential to keep things fresh in such a suspense-filled series.It is not easy to consistently achieve that feat season after season.
Touching on this matter, Free said, “Once you've spent so much time and once you’re so close to something, sometimes you have to take a step back from it and look at the whole series as a whole and look at the characters as a whole and take a deep breath and just recentre yourself because when it gets to halfway through shooting the season, and you've been there for three and a half months, it's easy to sort of – not get apathetic – but sort of lose yourself in it.
"And you have to remind yourself, you know, the gravity and the importance in every moment, every second.”
Every moment and every second is important. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
There will be days when she gets exhausted, she admitted. But “as soon as the camera’s rolling, it's like this shot of adrenaline straight to the heart, and you're back on form. And so, I think that's more about keeping my own mental state fresh.”
Keeping Leanne fresh, however, takes a slightly different approach.
"It’s just going with the writing and trying to add as many new layers as I can to her, within reason. And, you know, because we don't want to stray too far from the core of Leanne and what she is. But I think just like any human being, there’s a new element to her personality that forms every day, I think, like all of us. And it's just sort of trying to convey that and take her through these different dimensions until she finds out who the hell she actually is.”
Dorothy is no doubt a heavy character to play. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
In 'Servant' as is in life, each character faces their unique struggles but the weight of Dorothy’s character – with the trauma and hustle that she faces – is certainly on another level. Dorothy is a demanding character to play but Ambrose finds great joy doing it.
She stated, “I really like being an actor and I really like playing wacky characters and intense scenes and with other fabulous actors. And so, I feel really fortunate to have the opportunity to do that.”
She noted that “any job is work at times."
"However, when you get to do the really intense, heightened scenes and it’s everybody on set operating at the highest level, bringing forth all of their artistry and expertise and years of professional experience, it's just like, to me, that's the best – like, seeing everybody working at their best. So that's really what inspires me, keeps me going.”
The Influence Of Religion
Shyamalan calls the shot. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
Shyamalan is aware that “there’s always this kind of fluid motion between religion and the supernatural in the stories that I tell.”
Well, it should not come as a surprise as he has always been fascinated with the religion-supernatural theme. That fascination has been nurtured from way back.
“I grew up with a lot of religion – so my parents are Hindus and there’s all kinds of pujas at home and my grandma and everybody’s super religious and constantly praying and ashes on their face and doing rituals and, you know, all that stuff. And then, I go to school – and I went to Catholic school – so there’s nuns and I go to church there and all that stuff.”
He added, “So that’s how I grew up; it was religion, religion, religion in many forms and hearing stories from both sides – one’s Ganesh and Vishnu and then, over here, you know, Mary and Jesus. And I'm hearing all these stories and getting the value systems. And I think that has had a lot of effect on the way I tell stories and in the incorporation of spirituality into them. I do feel like there is a large fear aspect to a lot of religion and in the storytelling in and of itself. It is a fascinating thing.”
On his personal belief, Shyamalan revealed that “I would describe myself as more of a – I don't know – there's probably not a word for what I am. I'm a huge believer but not in religion. I'm just a huge believer in kind of energy and if there was some kind of physics thing that I could describe to you like of us, that the energy we put out, we get back.”
Of Cult and Supernatural Elements
A glimpse of Season 3. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
Based on a witty line in one of the first few episodes of Season 3, we couldn’t help but wonder how Grint and Kebbell would make their members dress if they were to lead their own cult.
“It's a scary thought. I don't know. It would have to be maybe a red wig. Maybe just kind of look exactly like me – kind of an army of Grint. I don't really think I'd get many followers,” Grint replied.
Kebbell, who was evidently amused, concurred with the answer of his fellow cast member. He stated, “Yeah, I’d also have them have red wigs just like Grint. Just call them the Grints.”
Given that 'Servant' features supernatural elements, one may wonder if the actors have actually experienced anything of that sort. To that, Rupert recalled the time when the movie, 'White Noise', came out and how he attempted to communicate with otherworldly beings.
“I tried that and I did get – I did hear a volume. This thing where you play like static on the radio and like, ask if there's anything out there to communicate to the static of the radio. And I heard a voice clear as day, say ‘Help me.’ But I mean, that again could also kind of be quite rationally explained.”
Kebbell doesn’t quite see eye-to-eye with Grint on this one though.
“I grew up going to Catholic school and I just – you know, there was a lot of like ‘if you chant in the mirror’ and all those kinds of things. It just never really worked for me. I don't know. I’ve probably got too much static about me as a person which doesn't really connect properly.”
With laughter, Kebbell went on to mimic the supernatural going, “Ah, he's not the one. He's not going to help. Yeah, he's going to mess around.”
Babysitting Baby Actors
The baby doll and actual baby are indeed a big part of 'Servant'.Moving forward through the series, it appears that the living, breathing Jericho is taking on more screen time. That means the actors have to work more with real babies than the doll.
Working with real babies has been an interesting experience for the actors. (Image credit: Apple TV+)
As it turns out, working with baby actors offers an experience unlike any other.
“One of them bit me,” stated Free, who was also scarred because of the mini-humans.
“Yeah, one of them had a dreadful hair-pulling problem,” Ambrose added.
Free chimed in as she tried to control her laughter, saying: “One of them ripped Lauren’s hair off.”
“So much hair. I should be bald for the amount of hair that child pulled out of my head,” Ambrose interjected.
But to be fair, “Sometimes they’ll giggle and it’s cute,” Free declared.
Explaining further, Ambrose stated, “We have several babies and several sets of twins that play the characters and there’s sort of a hero set of twins and then the other set of twins and the other set of twins. Would be great but you can't show their face and so, you’re trying to figure out how to not show their face and that's what you're worried about.”
There is also that concern of making sure the ‘hero babies’ stay in a good mood. “...so, you're sort of clandestinely feeding them little Puffs snacks throughout the whole scene; like on the other person’s line, feeding them, you know, have a reservoir in my pocket of puffs.”
It’s fair to say that working with baby actors is a task that requires a whole other skill set, Ambrose insisted. She stated, “It has nothing to do with acting and it’s just baby management. I actually didn’t realise I was signing up for that but I should have. I mean, I thought it was just going to be the plastic doll.”
Reflecting on the irony of the situation, Ambrose enthusiastically expressed, “Boy, Dorothy’s just dying to get the real baby back and I'm like, ‘Can we get that plastic doll back? Where's the doll?’”
'Servant Season 3' will premiere on 22 January 2022 followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday, exclusively on Apple TV+