Apple TV+ has given the green light for its legal thriller ‘Presumed Innocent,’ featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, to be renewed for a second season. The service posted a message on Instagram: “New season. New case. Presumed Innocent has been renewed for season 2.”
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Season 2 of ‘Presumed Innocent’ is coming next to Apple TV+ The eight-episode first season is set to end later this month on July 24.
‘Presumed Innocent’ – Plot, Cast & Viewership Success
Based on David E Kelley’s adaptation of the book (itself based on Scott Turow’s 1987 bestseller) and executive-produced by Joel Schumacher, ‘Presumed Innocent’ stars a Gyllenhaal as Rožat ‘Rusty’ Sabich, a renowned prosecutor suspected of murdering his former lover and colleague. The series is a reimagining of the 1990 movie starring Harrison Ford and directed by Alan J Pakula.
The renewal comes a month after ‘Presumed Innocent’ debuted as the #1 most-watched drama of all time on Apple TV+, and before the final two Season One episodes, airing on 17 July and 24 July. The cast also features Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, Elizabeth Marvel, Peter Sarsgaard, O-T Fagbenle, and Renate Reinsve.
Apple TV+ describes ‘Presumed Innocent’ as their most-watched drama series to date, though they did not provide viewing data. The show did not break into Nielsen’s US streaming top 10 charts for its premiere week (10-16 June), for which the data is currently available.
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Just last year, Idris Elba’s ‘Hijack’ became the second Apple TV+ series after the hit comedy ‘Ted Lasso’ to make its way onto Nielsen’s weekly Top 10 streaming rankings for originals.
‘Presumed Innocent’ has been said to break through Hieroglyph’s viewing to become the streaming service’s top drama to date – and so the legal drama is poised to make its way onto the Nielsen charts in the coming weeks.
Production And Future Prospects
David E Kelley, J J Abrams, and Jake Gyllenhaal all return as executive producers although the author Scott Turow will be an important new presence as co-executive producer.
There is no obvious model in Turow’s back catalog for how to carry on the series, but Turow’s bestselling first novel, ‘Presumed Innocent (1987),’ was followed by a sequel, ‘The Burden Of Proof (1990).’ This sequel spotlighted the character Sandy Stern, from the book that becomes the TV series.
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The character of the defense attorney Gabby Beans’s daughter Mya was introduced as a new character in the TV series, replacing the character from the novel.
Since Gyllenhaal’s Rusty Sabich is not a recurring character in the series of Turow books, it remains to be seen whether the actor returns for season two. ‘Presumed Innocent’ has a true book sequel, the 2011 novel Innocent, again with Rusty and Tommy Malto (played in the series by Peter Sarsgaard) on opposite sides of an investigation, this time 20 years later as Rusty’s wife dies mysteriously.
Kelley, after all, is the kind of producer who produces unexpected twists on massively well-known literary source materials, so whether the series is true to the novel’s ending or takes its own plot twist, the ultimate outcome of the first season remains to be seen.
Joining Kelley, Abrams, and Gyllenhaal as executive producers are Dustin Thomason, Matt Tinker, and Rachel Rusch Rich.
Presumed Innocent is from Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and David E Kelley Productions in association with Warner Bros Television, where Bad Robot is under a long-term deal. Anne Sewitsky and Greg Yaitanes serve as directors and executive producers on the first season.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s – Experience From ‘Presumed Innocent’
Jake Gyllenhaal shared his experience with the series, saying he was drawn into the story “like an audience member” after reading the first script.
He also enjoyed the challenge of working in a different medium after years of film and stage work. “I had never been involved in a creative process like that, meaning not just the length of a show and that it was going to be eight hours but also that it was going to be revealed to me as we went along,”
Gyllenhaal, whose stage and screen career dates back nearly three decades, admitted that he had never been involved in “a creative process like that, meaning not just [the length of] a show and that it was going to be eight hours but also that was going to be revealed to me as we went along.”
The actor commented to THR: “I like the opportunity of different mediums. I like what it does, and the questions it asks. As a performer, it’s so interesting to be in a different medium and see how it feels.”
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