Living Doll

A grieving couple care for a lifelike doll in an eerie thriller from M Night Shyamalan

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Everyone handles grief differently, but how can a parent ever recover from the loss of a child? That’s the premise of M Night Shyamalan’s 10-part thriller, Servant, which comes to Apple TV+ this week.

Following the sudden death of their infant son Jericho, Dorothy and Sean Turner (Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell) are advised to try ‘transitory object therapy’ to help them cope.

It involves caring for a lifelike toy called a ‘reborn doll’. Chef Sean is sceptical, but Dorothy – who seems deep in denial – even employs a nanny, Leanne (Nell Tiger Free), to look after the doll when she returns to her job as a news reporter.

However, when Leanne starts treating the doll as though it were a real baby, Sean grows suspicious of her and confides in Dorothy’s brash brother Julian (Rupert Grint).