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Tom's Guide
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
New Apple TV Plus thriller starring Jessica Chastain gets release date
She's played heavily-mascaraed televangelists, stoic CIA analysts, sweet Southern socialites and an underground poker boss — now Academy Award-winning actress Jessica Chastain is adding "The Savant" to her list of memorable performances, the titular role of the upcoming crime thriller miniseries for Apple TV Plus. Inspired by an August 2019 article by Andrea Stanley, entitled "Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?" and published by Cosmopolitan, the limited series has Chastain playing an undercover investigator who infiltrates online hate groups in an effort to stop domestic extremists before they act,' per the show's logline. It marks the performer's first major TV role since leading 2022's "George & Tammy," in which she portrayed country-music icon Tammy Wynette. "I've played real people that I could talk to, like Maya from 'Zero Dark Thirty,'' Chastain said in a December 2023 interview with The Saturday Paper. 'A lot of people came out and claimed to be Maya from 'Zero Dark Thirty'; none of them have been [her]. I spoke to her before I played the role ... I've also played characters where I didn't have the benefit of meeting with them and working with them, like Tammy Wynette. "With 'The Savant,' I didn't feel that it was as important to get all of her mannerisms because she's undercover. I wouldn't want to look and behave exactly like her, because I want to keep her hidden.' And after much delay — the streaming service had ordered the concept from Fifth Season all the way back in March 2023 — the eight-episode series will officially premiere on Friday, September 26 with its first two installments. Individual eps will drop weekly thereafter, culminating on Friday, November 7. The "tense and thrilling" drama was created by Melissa James Gibson, an Emmy-nominated showrunner and writer known for her work on "House of Cards" and "The Americans. " Along with Chastain, the cast of "The Savant" includes Nnamdi Asomugha, Cole Doman, Jordana Spiro, Trinity Lee Shirley, Toussaint Francois Battiste, and guest star Pablo Schreiber. Andrea Stanley, who wrote the Cosmopolitan story that serves as the show's source material, is a consultant. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "The Savant," including teaser trailers, plot points, character details and more.
Al Jazeera
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
UN urged to probe Myanmar envoy Julie Bishop over alleged China firms ties
The United Nations is facing calls to investigate its special envoy on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, over alleged ties between her consulting firm and Chinese mining and construction companies with interests in the Southeast Asian country. Justice for Myanmar, a prominent advocacy group, has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, citing a report by Australia's The Saturday Paper that detailed Bishop's alleged connections to Chinese state-owned firms. By Tuesday, a number of other activist groups had also joined the call for an investigation. The links to Chinese and other companies operating in Myanmar create 'unacceptable conflicts of interest that must be fully investigated', Justice for Myanmar wrote to Guterres. The group urged the UN chief to investigate Bishop's 'business activities, consider the appropriateness of her continued U.N. engagement, and disclose the findings'. Bishop, a former Australian foreign minister and current chancellor of Australian National University, has not publicly addressed the allegations. She was named UN envoy to Myanmar in April. In a statement sent to The Australian newspaper, Bishop's company said it was 'a private-advisory firm engaged to provide strategic analysis and guidance'. It added that it 'does not take fiduciary or executive roles, nor does it provide legal, corporate or financial advice' and that 'any potential or actual conflicts are declared and vetted.' Myanmar civil war Myanmar, embroiled in a civil war since the military ousted Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government in 2021, relies heavily on Chinese-backed mining and construction projects for revenue. China is also a key supplier of weapons to Myanmar's military rulers. In its letter, Justice for Myanmar argued that Bishop's ties to companies with interests in the country undermine her role as the UN envoy, particularly given her mandate to engage with civil society. 'The loss of trust of Myanmar civil society is a critical issue for the special envoy's position,' Yadanar Maung, the group's spokesperson, told The Associated Press news agency. According to The Saturday Paper, Bishop's firm has advised Melbourne-based Energy Transition Minerals, a rare earths company with significant Chinese backing, including from Shenghe Resources, a partially state-owned firm believed to source rare earths from Myanmar.
