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3 Reasons to Watch: Servant on Apple TV+

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Nell Tiger Free in “Servant,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
Nell Tiger Free plays creepy nanny Leanne in Apple TV+ thriller Servant.
Photo: Apple TV+

In this installment of 3 Reasons to Watch, we look at M. Night Shyamalan’s wonderfully dark television series Servant. The show, about a supernatural nanny with designs on an upper-class Philadelphia power couple and their missing baby, attracted an amazing array of directorial talent and some amazing on-screen presences.

Here’s why you should watch all four seasons of this runaway freight train of a show.

Servant goes out in a blaze of glory [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Nell Tiger Free and Lauren Ambrose in ★★★★☆
It's showdown time on Servant.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewServant, the stellar Apple TV+ show about a supernatural nanny and the Philadelphia family that plays unwitting and unwilling host to her journey, comes to its fiery finale this week.

Leanne must decide who she’s going to serve, and Dorothy decides what her family and life will be from now on. The episode, entitled “Fallen,” serves up a mostly perfect ending to a mostly perfect show.

Here are the most popular Apple TV+ shows that aren’t Ted Lasso

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With 51 nominations, Apple TV+ stands to do well at the primetime Emmy Awards.
These 10 Apple TV+ shows reached the peak of popularity on the streaming video service.
Photo: Apple TV+

Although Ted Lasso is amazing and wildly popular, it’s not the only hit show on Apple TV+. A search engine focused on movies and TV released a top 10 list of everything on Apple’s streaming service, revealing which other series also draw plenty of viewers.

Subscribers to the streaming service might use it to find additional shows worth watching.

Servant drops a major revelation this week [Apple TV+ recap]

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Lauren Ambrose in
Dorothy (played by Lauren Ambrose) learns the horrifying truth about her baby Jericho this week.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewM. Night Shyamalan returns to the director’s chair for the penultimate episode of Apple TV+’s Servant, his show about a nanny terrorizing a Philadelphia family in their brownstone.

Leanne has Dorothy all to herself — and Dorothy can’t help but notice. A last-ditch rescue attempt is scuttled after Dorothy insists on hearing some hard truths from Sean and Julian, who may not have the upper hand when they’re done.

Though unnerving and quite upsetting, “Awake” stands tall as one of the greatest episodes yet of this outstanding show.

Leanne strikes back this week on Servant [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Nell Tiger Free in ★★★★
Leanne (played by Nell Tiger Free) gets ruthless this week on Servant.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewBad weather, bad omens and bad timing collide on this week’s installment of Apple TV+ thriller Servant.

Sean and Julian attempt a Hail Mary to wrest control of the Turner house away from evil nanny Leanne. And Dorothy’s about to realize there are worse things than being loved too much.

The episode, entitled “Tunnels,” is a sharply directed half-hour of the horror/mystery series, which is the best show on Apple TV+ — and indeed one of the finest things on TV, full stop. It points the way to darker things coming in Servant’s final two episodes.

Servant mixes horror, humor and a dubious myth [Apple TV+ recap]

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Toby Kebbell and Rupert Grint looks for clues in
Sean (played by Toby Kebbell, left) and Julian (Rupert Grint) looks for clues about Leanne's true nature.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ thriller Servant heads toward mutually assured destruction this week. Sean and Julian start believing in angels and demons. Dorothy chases down a lead. Leanne is becoming too powerful to even speak to. And a stranger from the past shows up to tell a story that the Turner family does — and does not — want to hear.

It’s a conflicting, confounding and con … ehh very good episode of the show created by M. Night Shyamalan and Tony Basgallop.

Servant pulls out all the stops in its most unhinged episode yet [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Rupert Grint and Nell Tiger Free face chaos in a great episode of ★★★★
Things go all kinds of crazy this week on Servant ... and then there's the vengeful goat!
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+’s Servant takes a trip to a backyard zoo this week. The show about the world’s scariest nanny and her burgeoning mystical powers finds the Turner family in the middle of a circus of violence, vomit and vengeance.

The cult members haven’t run out of ideas about ways to get Leanne back, even if Dorothy has. Plus, Sean and Julian have a brutal heart-to-heart. And Bev has a bone to pick with Leanne.

The episode, entitled “Zoo,” is another marvelously unhinged half-hour of television from the best crew in the biz.

It’s Leanne against the world in a shockingly good episode of Servant [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Leanne (played by Nell Tiger Free) shows off a chef's knife in a particularly arty scene from Apple TV+ horror series ★★★★
Let's cut to the chase: This is a very sharp episode of Servant.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewSean and Dorothy throw a party this week on Servant, the Apple TV+ show about a nanny who is more than she seems and the family harboring her. Leanne is starting to notice that her adopted family isn’t being quite as familial and loving as she’d like. And she decides something must be done about it.

As the neighborhood gathers in the Turner household, Leanne plots her own pincer maneuver in a brilliantly directed installment of the best series on Apple TV+.

Servant dishes out a delightfully scary Halloween treat [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) wears a Halloween costume in an this week's episode of ★★★★
You've heard of Christmas in July. What about Halloween in February?
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewHalloween comes early this week on Servant, the Apple TV+ saga of a family increasingly held prisoner by the mystic nanny who once threatened to save them from themselves.

On the prowl for zealots, Leanne discovers that the violence inside her can be used for more than necessary evil. Julian and Sean are starting to lose the illusion that they have any kind of control over her, and are beginning to agree with Dorothy that it’s time for the nanny to go. It’s another excellently creepy outing for the Turner family.

Servant shakes things up with a séance [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Leanne (played by Nell Tiger Free) in a seance scene from Apple TV+ chiller ★★★★
Just light the candles and let 'er rip!
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewWe’re having a séance this week on Apple TV+ chiller Servant, the wonderfully cracked show about a magical nanny who uses murder and mayhem to maintain her grip on the Philadelphia family who summoned her.

Leanne hates the two new nurses Dorothy hired to look after her during her recovery, but she’s losing her favor with Sean and Julian by acting so suspicious. Sean desperately wants Dorothy to go back to her old self, and is realizing Leanne might be the problem.

It’s a tense and sharply directed episode of the best show on Apple TV+.