After six years of legal wrangling, the copyright dispute over Apple TV's Servant has officially come to a close. On Thursday, October 22, a U.S. appeals court upheld a jury's 2025 verdict that M. Night Shyamalan and Apple did not infringe on filmmaker Francesca Gregorini's 2013 indie movie The Truth About Emanuel. The decision puts an end to a case that had been revived, appealed, and closely watched across Hollywood.
The saga began in 2020 when Gregorini sued Apple and Shyamalan, alleging that Servant lifted the plot, tone, characters, and visual style of her film. Both works center on a grieving mother who cares for a lifelike reborn doll and hires a nanny who bonds with the substitute baby. A judge initially dismissed the case, finding little resemblance between the two projects, and even ordered Gregorini to pay $160,000 in legal fees. But in 2022, an appeals court revived the lawsuit, ruling that the dismissal had been premature and striking down the fee.
The case then went to trial, where Apple and Shyamalan successfully argued that the creators of Servant never had access to Gregorini's film before developing their show. In 2025, a jury sided with the defendants. Gregorini appealed once more, but the October 22 ruling upheld the jury's decision, finalizing the outcome.
What's the difference between 'Servant' and 'The Truth About Emanuel'?
While both stories share a similar premise, the execution differs significantly. Servant, created by Shyamalan, follows a Philadelphia couple (Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell) whose marriage crumbles after the loss of their baby. The mother copes by treating a doll as her child, and they hire a nanny (Nell Tiger Free) who plays along. The mystery deepens when the doll seemingly transforms into a real baby. The series, which also stars Rupert Grint, ran for four seasons on Apple TV.
The Truth About Emanuel, meanwhile, features a mother living alone, a nanny who is a neighbor, and a doll that never transforms. The conflict arises from the nanny's suspicious stepmother. Gregorini's team could not prove that the Servant creators had access to her film, partly due to its limited reach as an independent production.
For fans of Shyamalan's brand of suspense, Servant remains a standout on Apple TV. The streamer has become a home for high-profile genre fare, from Mike Flanagan's haunting miniseries to the upcoming adaptation of Neuromancer. And with hits like Slow Horses continuing to draw acclaim, Apple TV's investment in original storytelling shows no signs of slowing.
All four seasons of Servant are available to stream on Apple TV. The Truth About Emanuel is available for purchase on iTunes.
