‘Presumed Innocent’ Renewed for Season 2 at Apple
Christian Zilko
With the “Presumed Innocent” finale set to stream on July 24, Apple is letting fans know that there’s more to look forward to.
David E. Kelley’s limited series, itself an adaptation of Scott Turow’s novel of the same name that also inspired the 1990 film, has been renewed for a second season on Apple TV+. Kelley, Turow, J.J. Abrams, Dustin Thomason, and Jake Gyllenhaal are all set to return as executive producers. However, Season 2 will be centered around an entirely new case, so it’s unclear if Gyllenhaal or co-stars Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, or Peter Sarsgaard will return in an on-screen capacity.
The eight episode first season sees Gyllenhaal step into the role of Rusty Sabich (first played by Harrison Ford in Alan J. Pakula’s film), a prosecutor who becomes a prime suspect in his co-worker’s murder after their affair becomes public knowledge. While the show has been a hit with audiences, some critics felt that the adaptation falls short of its source material.
“As escapist summer fare, it’s diverting enough — especially given the A-list cast enlisted by Emmy-winning casting director Jeanie Bacharach — and Kelley’s time-tested expertise in legal thrillers keeps the pace quick and the patter flashy,” IndieWire’s Ben Travers wrote in his review of Season 1. “But the TV remake of ‘Presumed Innocent’ (officially an update of Scott Turow’s 1987 novel) makes some desperate gambits to fill out its episodes, and the emptiness underneath its dedicated performances proves just as nagging as the monotonous repetition of the same two queries, hour after hour, all the way through the finale.”
In addition to producing “Presumed Innocent” Season 2, Gyllenhaal has a busy slate ahead of him that includes roles in “The Bride!,” his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal’s punk rock riff on “The Bride of Frankenstein,” and an upcoming sequel to his “Road House” remake that’s in development at Amazon.
