Jessica Chastain “Not Aligned” With Apple TV+ Delay of Domestic Terrorism Thriller Amid Political Turmoil

After Apple TV+ decided to delay their upcoming political thriller The Savant, star Jessica Chastain has released a statement disagreeing with the decision. The series stars Chastain as a woman who infiltrates online hate groups in order to prevent large-scale attacks. The Savant was originally set to debut on September 26, 2025, but three days before its premiere, the streamer decided to delay the release. While no specific reason was cited, many have speculated Apple TV+ made the decision following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which occurred two weeks ago.

Chastain, who stars in and is an executive producer on The Savant, released her own statement on X (which can be seen below), saying she does “not align” with Apple’s decision to delay the series. She made note that she values her working relationship with Apple, but that “while I wish this show wasn’t so relevant, unfortunately it is” and listed the numerous acts of political violence that have emerged since they began developing the series, including:

“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.”

Chastain hopes The Savant will be released soon and will let fans know when they decide upon a release date, saying that “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.”

Why Pull ‘The Savant’ in the First Place?

The decision to delay the release of The Savant comes just days after the Jimmy Kimmel Live! situation. Before coming to an agreement, ABC put the series on hold for five days after Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcasting decided to pull the series from their airwaves. Although Apple TV+ is not in the same boat, since it is a streaming platform that releases its own material, it is likely to try to avoid jumping into the middle of any charged political discussion. At the moment, the streamer has not announced a premiere date for The Savant.

This certainly isn’t uncommon for a network or platform to delay a series in the wake of a real-life event. Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Season 3 episode “Earshot,” which followed Buffy Summers trying to stop a fellow student from killing his classmates, was delayed for five months, as one week prior to broadcast, the Columbine High School Massacre occurred. Following the Las Vegas shooting on October 1, 2017, Marvel Television pulled The Punisher panel from New York Comic Con and decided against the rumored October release date. Real-world tragedies can influence the timing of certain art releases, as it may be perceived as poor timing.

That said, Apple’s decision to delay The Savant certainly seems odd, given the series is not about plotting an assassination, which might make some people uncomfortable, but instead about preventing one. Everyone should, in theory, be on board with a series that aims to prevent violence. The Savant could have been pulled because it tackles the subject of hate groups, potentially alt-right organizations, which has become an even bigger talking point in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death. The comment that got Jimmy Kimmel in hot water implied that Kirk’s suspected shooter could have been part of the alt-right movement, which, at the moment, remains speculation. However, it appears that anything that is even slightly critical of a specific cause that might align with the current Presidential administration is subject to attack and scrutiny.