Presumed Innocent ended up being one of the biggest series on Apple TV+ in a while, specifically on a service that really needs big series at this point, and preferably ones that don’t break the bank. Now, even though season 1 felt like it could have a conclusive ending and not go on from there, season 2 is happening, with a catch.
Something interesting is happening here. Not only is Presumed Innocent not going back to Jake Gyllenhaal’s Rusty Sabich, it is getting away from author Scott Turrow entirely. Deadline is reporting that instead Presumed Innocent season 2 will be based on Dissection of a Murder, a book that is not even out until spring 2026, a debut novel from Jo Murray which must be pretty good. Here’s how it’s described:
“[Dissection of a Murder] follows Leila Reynolds who has just been handed her first murder case. She’s way out of her depth but the defendant only wants her – and to make matters worse, her husband is the prosecutor. Soon Leila is fighting to keep her own secrets buried too.”
There is talk that maybe a character or two could cross over to the new show to make it the same “universe” rather than a complete and total anthology, but it seems that it’s what it’s going to feel like in any case.
It will obviously have a female lead this time around, and we’ll see if Apple TV+ can draw a big Hollywood name like Gyllenhaal was for season 1. My guess would be yes, as Apple has original content that stars the likes of Rebecca Ferguson, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Garner, Brie Larson, Anna Sawai, Natalie Portman, Hailey Steinfeld and many others. I have no doubt it will be a big name in this role. If they’re going to return to someone they’ve already worked with on that list, my vote is Brie Larson or Anna Sawai.
So, it’s certainly a strange situation to have a crime series like this not just have a new case, but jump to an entirely different author and an entirely different book. And given that Dissection of a Murder is a debut novel, obviously they would have to do the same thing again with season 3. Maybe Apple TV+ maybe wants this to be its less-intense version of True Detective, and so long as it puts up numbers, no doubt they will keep it going in some form or another as long as they can.
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