Appeals Court Ends 6-Year Legal Battle: Apple TV, M. Night Shyamalan Officially Prevail
The dispute over Servant
Servant premiered in 2019. The thriller follows a Philadelphia couple grieving the loss of their baby as they try to repair their marriage and bring a mysterious force into their home. Its cast includes Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Rupert Grint and Nell Tiger Free.
In 2020, filmmaker Francesca Gregorini sued Apple TV and Shyamalan. She alleged that Servant copied the plot, tone, characters and visual style of her 2013 independent film The Truth About Emanuel, which also features a grieving mother, a lifelike reborn doll and a nanny who bonds with the substitute baby.
Dismissal and case revival
The case returned in 2022 after a determination that the judge had dismissed it too quickly. The fee award was also struck down.
Jury verdict upheld
In 2025, Apple and Shyamalan persuaded a jury that the makers of Servant had not accessed Gregorini’s film before creating the series. Gregorini appealed the verdict. On Thursday, October 22, a U.S. appeals court upheld the jury’s decision, ending the six-year legal fight.
Key points
- Francesca Gregorini alleged that Servant copied elements of her 2013 film, The Truth About Emanuel.
- A judge dismissed her case in 2020 and ordered $160,000 in legal fees; the case was revived in 2022.
- A jury ruled in 2025 that Servant’s makers had not accessed Gregorini’s film before making the series.
- A U.S. appeals court upheld the verdict on Thursday, October 22.