''Defending Jacob'' is an American
murder-mystery legal drama
Legal drama, also called courtroom drama, is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in wh ...
miniseries, based on the 2012
novel of the same name by
William Landay, produced by
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...
. The series was created and written by
Mark Bomback
Mark Bomback (born August 29, 1971) is an American screenwriter, originally from New Rochelle, New York. Bomback is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he studied English Literature and Film Studies.
Biography
In 1994, Bomback began work ...
and directed by
Morten Tyldum
Morten Tyldum (; born 19 May 1967) is a Norwegian film director. He is best known in his native Norway for directing the thriller film '' Headhunters'' (2011), based on the novel by Jo Nesbø, and internationally for directing the historical dram ...
. It stars
Chris Evans,
Michelle Dockery
Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born 15 December 1981) is an English actress. She is best known for starring as List of Downton Abbey characters#Lady Mary Talbot, Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV (TV network), ITV television period drama series ''Downton ...
,
Jaeden Martell
Jaeden Martell ( né Lieberher; born January 4, 2003) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, with roles in the comedy drama '' St. Vincent'' (2014) and science fiction film '' Midnight Special'' (2016). His performance in ''S ...
,
Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress. She started her career in theater as a founding member of the American Repertory Theater in 1980 before transitioning into film and television. Celebrated for her dynamic roles on st ...
,
Pablo Schreiber
Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003, 2008), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad Swe ...
,
Betty Gabriel,
Sakina Jaffrey and
J.K. Simmons. It premiered on April 24, 2020, and concluded on May 29, 2020.
The series received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly those of Evans, Dockery and Martell), ambiguity, and emotional weight, but criticized the pacing, length and ending. The miniseries was released on
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
on July 6, 2021, by
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, originally Paramount Home Video, and operating as the namesake film studio since 2022) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures.
The division oversees Para ...
.
Premise
Assistant District Attorney Andy Barber and his wife Laurie deal with the accusation that their 14-year-old son Jacob may be a murderer.
Cast
Main
*
Chris Evans as Andy Barber
*
Michelle Dockery
Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born 15 December 1981) is an English actress. She is best known for starring as List of Downton Abbey characters#Lady Mary Talbot, Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV (TV network), ITV television period drama series ''Downton ...
as Laurie Barber
*
Jaeden Martell
Jaeden Martell ( né Lieberher; born January 4, 2003) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, with roles in the comedy drama '' St. Vincent'' (2014) and science fiction film '' Midnight Special'' (2016). His performance in ''S ...
as Jacob Barber
*
Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress. She started her career in theater as a founding member of the American Repertory Theater in 1980 before transitioning into film and television. Celebrated for her dynamic roles on st ...
as Joanna Klein
*
Pablo Schreiber
Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003, 2008), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad Swe ...
as Neal Logiudice
*
Betty Gabriel as Pam Duffy
*
Sakina Jaffrey as Lynn Canavan
Recurring
*
J. K. Simmons as William "Bloody Billy" Barber
*
Daniel Henshall
Daniel Edwin Henshall (born 9 August 1982) is an Australian actor. Following his film debut in ''Snowtown'' (2011), for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Henshall appeared in films such as '' The Babadook'' (2014), ...
as Leonard Patz
*
Tamara Hickey as Toby
* Ben Taylor as Derek Yoo
* Jordan Alexa Davis as Sarah Grohl
* Megan Byrne as Joan Rifkin
* Christopher Buckner as Young William "Bloody Billy" Barber (flashbacks)
*
Patrick Fischler
Patrick Fischler (born December 29, 1969) is an American character actor known for his roles as Jimmy Barrett on the drama series '' Mad Men'', Dharma Initiative worker Phil on the drama series '' Lost'', and Detective Kenny No-Gun on the poli ...
as Dan Rifkin
*
Poorna Jagannathan
Poorna Jagannathan ( ; born December 22, 1972) is an American producer and actress. She is known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO drama miniseries '' The Night Of'', as well as for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen come ...
as Dr. Vogel
* Lizzie Short as Marianne Barber (flashbacks)
* Evan Risser as Young Andy Barber (flashbacks)
* William Xifaras as Father James O’Leary
*
Lenny Clarke
Lenny Clarke (born September 16, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for his thick Boston accent and as the role of Uncle Teddy on the series '' Rescue Me''.
Early life
Clarke was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September ...
as Food Truck Guy
* Michelle D. Violette as Paula Gianetto
Episodes
Production
Development
On September 20, 2018, it was announced that
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
had given a straight-to-series order consisting of eight episodes to a television miniseries adaptation of
William Landay's 2012 novel ''
Defending Jacob''. The series was created by
Mark Bomback
Mark Bomback (born August 29, 1971) is an American screenwriter, originally from New Rochelle, New York. Bomback is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he studied English Literature and Film Studies.
Biography
In 1994, Bomback began work ...
who also wrote the series and executive produced alongside
Chris Evans,
Morten Tyldum
Morten Tyldum (; born 19 May 1967) is a Norwegian film director. He is best known in his native Norway for directing the thriller film '' Headhunters'' (2011), based on the novel by Jo Nesbø, and internationally for directing the historical dram ...
, Rosalie Swedlin, and Adam Shulman. Tyldum also directed the series as well. Production companies involved with the series consist of
Paramount Television
The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006.
History
Desilu Pro ...
and
Anonymous Content.
Casting
Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that
Chris Evans had been cast in the series' lead role.
In March 2019,
Michelle Dockery
Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born 15 December 1981) is an English actress. She is best known for starring as List of Downton Abbey characters#Lady Mary Talbot, Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV (TV network), ITV television period drama series ''Downton ...
and
Jaeden Martell
Jaeden Martell ( né Lieberher; born January 4, 2003) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, with roles in the comedy drama '' St. Vincent'' (2014) and science fiction film '' Midnight Special'' (2016). His performance in ''S ...
joined the cast of the series. In April 2019,
Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress. She started her career in theater as a founding member of the American Repertory Theater in 1980 before transitioning into film and television. Celebrated for her dynamic roles on st ...
,
Pablo Schreiber
Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003, 2008), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad Swe ...
,
Betty Gabriel and
Sakina Jaffrey joined the cast of the series.
J. K. Simmons was revealed as part of the cast in a March 2020 trailer.
Filming
Filming was confirmed to commence in
Newton,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
––the city in which the novel takes place––in April 2019. Three locations were confirmed for filming: Cold Spring Park, the village of
Newton Highlands, and the
UMass Amherst Mount Ida Campus. Additional filming began in
Belmont, Massachusetts
Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a western suburb of Boston and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, its population was 27,295, an increase of 10.4% from 2010.
H ...
. Filming also began in
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...
, on June 15, 2019, as well as at MCI Cedar Junction in
Walpole, Massachusetts
Walpole is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Walpole Town, as the Census refers to it, is located approximately south of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, and north of Providence, Rhode Island. The population of Walpole was ...
, on June 17, 2019, and in
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...
, by the
UMass Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of M ...
Tsongas Arena on June 19, 2019. Filming took place at River's Edge in
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus on both sides of the Medford and Somervill ...
, on June 21, 2019. Filming also commenced on June 28, 2019, in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
, and on July 8, 2019, in
Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Sq ...
, where the facade of the old Watertown Police Station appears as the Newton Police Station in the series. Filming took place on July 9, 2019, at the
Town Diner in Watertown. On July 18, 2019, they filmed at C&M Pizza in Leominster, Massachusetts. Neighborhood scenes were filmed in
Needham, Massachusetts
Needham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb of Boston, its population was 32,091 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. It is the home of Olin College.
History
...
. The scenes in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
were filmed on September 25, 2019, at the Grand Velas hotel in
Nuevo Vallarta
Nuevo Nayarit (), formerly known as Nuevo Vallarta, is a residential-resort community located in the Municipality of Bahía de Banderas#Municipality, Bahía de Banderas, in the Mexico, Mexican state of Nayarit. By automobile, it is about fifte ...
, in the state of
Nayarit
Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...
. Scenes were filmed also in
Waltham on the property of Northgate Gardens Condominium.
Reception
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the series' approval rating is 72% based on reviews from 61 critics, with an average rating of 6.68/10. The website's critical consensus is, "Despite outstanding work from Michelle Dockery and Chris Evans, ''Defending Jacob'' stretches its source material too thin, undermining its own rich tension with too much melodramatic padding." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the series has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The series has reportedly become the second most popular Apple TV+ show.
Accolades
References
External links
* – official site
*
*
*
{{Apple TV+
2020 American television series debuts
2020 American television series endings
2020s American drama television miniseries
American English-language television shows
Apple TV+ original programming
American television series about teenagers
Television series by Anonymous Content
Television series by Paramount Television
Television shows filmed in Massachusetts
Television shows based on American novels
Television shows set in Massachusetts