Initial reviews of M. Night Shyamalan's Apple TV+ show 'Servant' are mixed

Apple TV+ show Servant , directed by M. Night Shymalan is due to debut on Friday, November 28, here's a roundup of all the initial reviews of the show.

Apple TV+ shows, particularly The Morning Show , have fallen foul of mixed and sometimes poor initial reviews. Despite initial criticism however, the service itself seems to be proving popular, many of its flagship shows (including Servant ) are pegged for second seasons , and a couple of its shows have even broken into Reelgood's streaming top 20.

The next offering from Apple TV+ is Servant , a thriller directed by M Night. Shyamalan, which follows a Philadelphia couple who tragically loses a child at 13 weeks old. They replace that child with a doll in order to help the child's mother cope. The trailers look incredibly creepy, and the initial reviews seem to confirm that is indeed the case. Beware, some of these reviews may contain spoilers (or plot points) that you might not want to hear about before watching. You have been warned.

Variety

Variety described the show as Apple TV+'s "most watchable show yet", despite its "slithering, reversing structure."

Vulture

Again, described the show as "extremely watchable", but also "extremely silly",

It offers possible resolutions and answered questions, and seems to get off on withholding them. And despite its shortcomings, we keep going because we want a bite of that chocolate.

IndieWire

IndieWire gave the show a B-, describing the two leads as "a huge asset", but overall found the show dragged on a bit, seemingly not fulfilling the potential of the premise.

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone says that the show is "heavy on atmosphere but light on everything else." It notes that Servant has a strong setup and some big initial twists that are "genuinely unnerving". Ultimately, however, it was described as "too empty to be worth the time."

GQ

GQ describes the show's setup as "irresistible." However, it says the pace as less effective.

Safe to say, this is a successful horror show in its oppressive atmosphere and pitch-perfect character work. If you don't mind sitting back and not sweating where this is all going, you might just be as excited for a second season as I am.

Decider

Decider reckons that Servant is the reason you should get Apple TV+. It describes every scene as "meticulously crafted to be unsettling," with enough imagery to make horror fans both thrilled and repulsed.

But what elevates Servant from good to great TV is how it absolutely refuses to lean into the self-inflated tropes of its high art television peers. There simply is no fat on Servant. Each one of Ambrose's blank stares is perfectly crafted to show how broken Dorothy has become.

The reviews are certainly more mixed than other Apple TV+ shows, for example, The Morning Show 's initial reviews were almost universally poor. However, both that and See have performed well since release, proving more popular with the public than in the hands of professional critics. Hopefully, these trailers are enough to get you excited for the release of Servant on November 28, where three episodes will debut. The remaining shows will be released weekly after that, and there are 10 episodes in total.