Horror happens to be the most divisive genre, with many people (myself included) unable to handle everything explored, while others love nothing more than turning the lights down low and enduring the horrors.

One of the best horror series of late was Apple TV+’s Servant, a four season show that was broadcast between 2019 and 2023. Each season featured 10 parts, meaning that if you can’t handle the whole thing in one sitting, it’s easily digestible.

The season followed married couple Dorothy and Sean Turner, played by Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell respectively, as they move to a new home following the death of their newborn baby. Due to Dorothy’s reluctance to accept the tragedy, the family look after a lifelike doll, but when they hire nanny Leanne Grayson, portrayed by Nell Tiger Free, mysterious events start to occur…

The blurb for the show reads: “From M. Night Shyamalan, Servant follows a Philadelphia couple in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home.”

WATCH: See the trailer for Apple TV+’s Servant

M. Night has been behind some of the most gripping thrillers of all time, including The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village and The Happening, so you know that you’re in good hands with this show.

Fan response

Servant has a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%, and one viewer said: “This show is a criminally underrated thriller. It’s literally in my top 5 TV shows of all time. So many people are missing out on this hidden gem. Apple TV didn’t even attempt to do any sort of marketing. One of my friends who has very close taste in TV shows to mine recommended it to me. If it wasn’t for this friend, I would’ve never known this show existed. We rewatch it on a regular basis together now.”

A second added: “I usually don’t make it through a whole season, but this one is 4 seasons, and I was glued to the TV! Yes it is slow but it keeps you hooked with small weird happenings throughout,” while a third enthused: “I found the first episode of Servant so fascinating that I insisted my girlfriend watch it while I rewatched it. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, it’s weirdly unsettling: the guy is weirdly hostile, the woman is weirdly nervous and excited, and the girl is weirdly low-key.”

Nell Tiger Free holding a baby in a still from Servant© Apple TV+
The four-season show left plenty of viewers unsettled

A fourth penned: “If Servant were a restaurant it would be that 5-star place with the waiting list you’ll never get on & food that is exquisite in every way but not near enough of it. It’s so visually stunning and the acting from all 4 main characters (as well as the supporting actors) is so on point, it almost feels like it’s too good for the likes of me.”

On FandomWire, Roma Dean wrote how one of the show’s episodes left her so unnerved that she resorted to “sleep[ing] with the lights on”. She noted: “For the fans who are watching the show a second time around, viewing this episode is even more chilling. It’s because now you know what’s coming next, and the dread injected in every scene is sure to keep you wide-eyed even hours after the episode is over.”

Servant’s cast

The show features four main characters, Dorothy Turner, Sean Turner, Leanne Grayson and Julian Pearce who are played by Lauren Ambrose (Yellowjackets), Toby Kebbell (War Horse), Nell Tiger Free (Game of Thrones) and Rupert Grint (Harry Potter) respectively.

Toby Kebbell, Rupert Grint and Nell Tiger Free in a still image from Servant© Apple TV+
The series includes Rupert Grint as one of its main characters

Supporting cast-members include Phillip James Brannon (The Sinner), Tony Revolori (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Soojeong Son (The Brothers Sun), Boris McGiver (House of Cards), Jerrika Hinton (Grey’s Anatomy), Molly Griggs (The Residence), Todd Waring (NCIS), Alison Elliott (The Wings of the Dove) and Victoria Cartagena (Batwoman).

Completing the cast were Billy Vargus (Sickness), Katie Lee Hill (Succession), Barbara Sukowa (Marianne and Juliane), Sunita Mani (GLOW), Mathilde Dehaye (Castle Rock), Joshua De Jesus (Brilliant Minds), Mac Rop (Girly), Carmen Herlihy (Madam Secretary), Brian K. Landis (Swagger), Barbara Kingsley (Jessica Jones) and Denny Dillon (Ice Age).