Apple’s Missing Savant

If you’ve ever wondered why Apple has never bought a TV giant like Warner Bros. Discovery, just look at the minidrama over its upcoming Apple TV+ thriller “The Savant.” Apple this week delayed release of the show, about a “top-secret undercover investigator known as the Savant, who infiltrates online hate groups to take down the most violent extremists,” prompting a rebuke on X today from its star, Jessica Chastain.

Apple hasn’t explained its reasons—it told Deadline it made the decision “after careful consideration.” But in her X post Chastain made clear she disagreed with the choice, which she interpreted as Apple viewing the subject matter as too problematic right now, given the turmoil over Charlie Kirk’s murder. “I’ve never shied away from difficult subjects,” Chastain said. It wouldn’t be the first time an entertainment company has delayed release of a movie or TV show because of the news environment—Warner Bros. delayed the release of action film “Collateral Damage” in 2001 because of the Sept. 11 attacks, as just one example—so going after Apple over this issue (as some critics have done) seems a tad unfair. But the episode is a reminder of how little appetite Apple has for contentious entertainment content.