Jessica Chastain is the latest A-lister to compose her own show at Apple.
Oscar-winner “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” will star in “The Savant,” an eight-episode limited series based on a true story and published by Cosmopolitan.
While Apple remains mum on details, Andrea Stanley — who is involved as a consultant on the Chastain show — wrote a Cosmo story in August 2019 titled “Is It Possible To Stop A Mass Shooting Before It Happens?”. It described a woman known as “The Savant,” a detective whose job it is to bring down the country’s most violent men before they can launch a full-scale assault.
Melissa James Gibson (Anatomy of a Scandal, The Americans) is on board to serve as showrunner for the series, which is a co-production of Fifth Season (formerly known as Endeavor Content) and Anonymous Content. Gibson is stationed in season five with a full deal.
Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land) will direct and serve as executive producer alongside Gibson and Chastain, who are producing via their Freckle Films banner. The agreement expands Apple’s relationship with Anonymous Content following previous collaborations, including Dickinson and The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. Additional executive producers are Kelly Carmichael of Freckle Films and Jessica Giles, Editor-in-Chief of Cosmo. Brian Madden, who serves as senior vice president of development for Hearst Magazines, will produce.
Meanwhile, for Chastain, The Savant marks her latest foray into television. She most recently starred in Showtime’s “George & Tammy,” for which she received a Golden Globe nomination and a SAG Award for her performance as Tammy Wynette. Her TV appearances also include HBO’s Scenes From a Marriage. It will be repeated by CAA and Mosaic.
Gibson is represented by CAA and management. Heineman is with CAA, Cinetic Media and Sloss Eckhouse. Hearst Magazines is with WME.