In a surprising development, Presumed Innocent — Apple TV+’s most-watched drama — will return with a fresh narrative unrelated to Scott Turow’s novel as well as a new female lead replacing star Jake Gyllenhaal for its second season, according to a report Tuesday. These Presumed Innocent season 2 changes spring the adoption of a first-time novelist’s upcoming legal thriller as source material.
Presumed Innocent season 2 changes: New source material and female lead for legal drama
Presumed Innocent captivated audiences in its debut season with Jake Gyllenhaal’s compelling portrayal of Rusty Sabich in Turow’s story. But now the show takes a bold creative leap by introducing a new female protagonist, Leila Reynolds, and new source material, Deadline reported. This dramatic shift comes as the series transforms into an anthology format, drawing inspiration from emerging literary talent.
The show’s creative team has secured the rights to Dissection of a Murder, an upcoming legal thriller by debut author Jo Murray. It’s scheduled for publication by Pan Macmillan in spring 2026. The novel centers on Leila Reynolds, a rookie attorney thrust into a complex murder case that becomes dangerously personal. Not only is she navigating unfamiliar legal waters. She must also contend with her husband serving as the prosecutor while protecting her own buried secrets.
Why the bold course correction?
This innovative approach to continuing the series addresses a unique challenge the production team faced. The first season was based on Turow’s bestselling novel Presumed Innocent. But the team saw no clear path forward within Turow’s existing works for a second season. So rather than force a continuation of the original story, the creative team, led by TV veterans David E. Kelley and J.J. Abrams, chose to reinvent the series. But it maintained a core focus on legal intrigue and personal drama.
Sources close to the production suggest that while the show is embracing change, discussions have suggested carrying over one or two characters from the first season, similar to HBO’s successful strategy with The White Lotus. However, these plans remain unconfirmed. Both Apple TV+ and Warner Bros. Television declined to comment on details.
Gyllenhaal remains an executive producer on the show
The powerhouse creative team remains largely intact, with executive producers Kelley, Abrams and Gyllenhaal returning alongside Dustin Thomason, Matt Tinker and Rachel Rusch Rich. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and David E. Kelley Productions produce the series in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Hopefully the bold new direction will pay off for Apple TV+ subscribers who made Presumed Innocent the platform’s most-viewed drama to date.
Watch Presumed Innocent season 1 on Apple TV+
If you haven’t seen the show, you can see what everybody’s raving about by streaming season one on Apple TV+. The service is available by subscription for $9.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
After launching in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 515 wins and 2,308 award nominations and counting,” the service said.
In addition to award-winning movies and TV shows (including breakout soccer comedy Ted Lasso), Apple TV+ offers a variety of documentaries, dramas, comedies, kids shows and more.
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
