Servant sets January return as Season 2 filming begins with snow-filled shoot in Philadelphia

Christmas has come early to Philadelphia as Servant resumes production on its second season in the City of Brotherly Love. 

Posting on Twitter today, executive producer M. Night Shyamalan confirmed that the mystery thriller series will officially return to Apple TV+ Friday, Jan. 15. The filmmaker, who also directed two episodes of the first season, shared a small promo video, which included clips from Season 1 and Twitter testimonials from horror mavens like Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro.

SYFY WIRE can indeed confirm that the shoot is in full swing after we took a lovely (albeit confusing) stroll down a snow-filled section of Spruce Street in Center City today. This particular street serves as the exterior for the main characters' lavish apartment. It seems that Season 2 — or at least part of it — is set during the most wonderful time of the year. It's quite a thing to see Hallmark-y piles of snow and Christmas decorations in 75-degree weather, but Servant does have some catching up to do if it's going to air its second season in the new year. 

Head to the gallery below for a yuletide sneak peek. All photos courtesy of Josh Weiss.

Created by Tony Basgallop, the show is centered around a young Philly couple — Dorothy and Sean Turner (Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell) — coming to terms with the death of their newborn son. Their worlds are turned upside down when a strange nanny named Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) is hired to watch over the therapy doll that helped Dorothy cope with the loss. At the end of the first season, Dorothy finally came to realize the true circumstances surrounding her baby's untimely death. Harry Potter's Rupert Grint co-stars as Dorothy's brother, Julian.

"It came from essentially being a parent, having kids and the fear of doing something wrong, and the fear of being put in that position of responsibility when you're not ready for it," Basgallop told SYFY WIRE last year. "I think the dark imagination just leads you towards 'Well, what could go wrong? What is the worst-case scenario in this? And how would I cope?'"

Production on the next batch of episodes was forced to shut down in March over COVID-19. In a tweet posted over the summer, Shyamalan assured viewers that filming was slated to pick back up in the fall. Servant was renewed for a second installment ahead of its premiere last November. If Shyamalan gets his way, the series will run for six seasons.

Boris McGiver, Jerrika Hinton, Tony Revolori, S.J. Son, Phillip James Brannon, and Molly Griggs make up the rest of the cast.

Season 2 of Servant heads to Apple TV+ Friday, Jan. 15.