Apple TV+ has pulled the upcoming release of their political drama The Savant starring and executive produced by Jessica Chastain. "After careful consideration, we have made the decision to postpone The Savant," a statement released by the streamer read. "We appreciate your understanding and look forward to releasing the series at a future date." The Savant was due to drop on the streaming platform on September 26, 2025. It stars Oscar winner Jessica and Nnamdi Asomugha, and has been branded as a "tense and thrilling series" that "follows an undercover investigator known as The Savant as she infiltrates online hate groups in an effort to stop domestic extremists before they act".
In response, Jessica shared a lengthy Instagram post, in which she admitted she was "not aligned" with the decision, sharing that during the five years they have spent in production on the series "we’ve seen an unfortunate amount of violence in the United States: the kidnapping attempt on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer; the January 6th attack on the Capitol; the assassination attempts on President Trump; the political assassinations of Democratic representatives in Minnesota; the attack on Speaker Pelosi’s husband; the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk; the recent shooting at an ABC affiliate station in California; and over 300 school shootings across this country".
"These incidents, though far from encompassing the full range of violence witnessed in the United States, illustrate a broader mindset that crosses the political spectrum and must be confronted," she wrote. "I've never shied away from difficult subjects, and while I wish this show wasn’t so relevant, unfortunately it is. The Savant is about the heroes who work every day to stop violence before it happens, and honoring their courage feels more urgent than ever. While I respect Apple’s decision to pause the release for now, I remain hopeful the show will reach audiences soon. Until then, I’m wishing safety and strength for everyone, and I’ll let you know if and when The Savant is released.”
There was no reason given by Apple TV+; HELLO! has contacted representatives for comment. The Savant is an eight-episode series with the first two episodes set to premiere on Friday, September 26, 2025, followed by one new episode every Friday through November 7, 2025.
However, early screeners revealed that there were scenes of snipers in action and the bombing of a government building, among other acts of domestic violence. In recent weeks, the United States has been faced with an ongoing crisis of domestic terrorism and political violence, with the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and the shocking political overreach that saw Jimmy Kimmel pulled off the air.
On September 11, 2025, Charlie was shot by a sniper while at a public event in Utah. Very little remains known about the shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who faces being charged with aggravated murder and obstruction of justice, among others. Utah prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case.
Charlie's death led to a wave of accusations leveled at left-wing groups and politics, for which there has been zero evidence confirmed. On September 15, 2025, Jimmy spoke about President Donald Trump's response during his opening monologue, in which Jimmy said: "We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.
"And in between the finger-pointing, there was grieving on Friday. The White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level you can see how hard the president is taking this."
The show then cut to a clip of Trump deflecting a question on his death and instead discussing the new multi-million dollar bathroom being built at the White House. "It's going to be a beauty," he quipped.
After pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr, who is meant to be an independent, non-partisan regulator, ABC pulled the late-night show on September 17, 2025.
Widespread outrage followed, including from viewers who canceled their subscriptions to a loss of $4 billion for the company, and even former Presidents, including Barack Obama, ABC repealed the decision.
"Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country," Disney said in a statement shared on Monday, September 22. "It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive."
However, several ABC affiliate stations made the decision to continue to block the telecast of the show which returns on September 23, 2025, including Nexstar, Sinclair and Tegna, which will impact millions of Americans nationwide\