Servant balances the humor and creepiness with a much tighter and focused Season 3

The A.V. Club

"Few shows deliver as consistent a balance between solid storytelling entertainment and wild moments of what-the-f*ckery as the Apple TV+ comic thriller Servant," says Alex McLevy. "After an initial run of episodes that found the show struggling to deliver an “all mystery and macabre, all the time” mindset, the series figured out a sturdier framework for its story in season two by leaning into the absurdity of it all, and locating consistent black humor in the characters and predicaments of this odd little family. Rarely did an episode end without providing at least one delightful moment of, 'The hell just happened?!' And while it’s still bringing the humor in season three, the latest round of episodes have landed somewhere in between the first and second seasons’ tones, splitting the difference between the original outlandish eeriness and subsequent laughs. It could be argued that this is the most 'normal' season of Servant yet. But on a show where, when one character actually smiles, it’s such a rare occurrence that another says to them, 'What’s wrong with your face?,' it’s safe to say that 'normal' is grading on a steep curve."

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• Servant still succeeds at mining tension from the deliberate suppression of key information: "Servant is an experiment in how long a TV series can withhold concrete answers to its central mysteries, and credit for that teasing nature goes to executive producer, director, and driving creative force M. Night Shyamalan, whose career has been marked by stories predicated on climactic twists—often of a less-than-wholly-satisfying quality," says Nick Schager. "Now in its third season, Shyamalan and showrunner Tony Basgallop’s spooky small-screen effort is like the ultimate expression of the auteur’s modus operandi: establish and develop baffling supernatural scenarios and then sustain them for as long as is humanely possible, all in the hope that audiences will remain intrigued, rather than frustrated, by the prolonged waiting game. Predictably, there are no mind-blowing revelations in Servant’s latest season—its second to last—or none found in its first five chapters, which were all that was provided to press. For every clarifying nugget dispensed by this new batch of episodes, Shyamalan and Basgallop pile on five more head-spinning questions. The result is a darkly comedic drama that mines tension from the deliberate suppression of key information. No doubt many have found that construction vexing; there are only so many times one can be on the precipice of comprehension, only to be thrown back into confusion, before aggravation sets in. Nonetheless, there’s something rewardingly compelling about being strung along in this excessive fashion, thanks both to a serpentine formal structure that suggests unholy malevolence in every constricting door frame and hallway, and performances that are constantly threatening to tip into abject madness."
• Servant is running out of gas in Season 3: "The stars of Servant have admitted to not knowing what exactly it’s about, so why should the viewer?" asks Tambay Obenson. "Billed as a psychological thriller, created and written by Tony Basgallop, and executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, it’s more of a series of riddles wrapped in mysteries, inside enigmas. Those who’ve been just as mystified, expecting a third season to answer the many questions it’s raised, or at least a deeper dive following the supernatural events of the Season 1 cliffhanger, will be terribly disappointed."
• Servant continues to surprise in Season 3: "Narratively surprising and technically ambitious, Servant is one of the most unusual shows on television, a thriller that has outlasted its single-season concept to become more unpredictable and stranger than nearly anything else on television," says Brian Tallerico. "Created by Tony Basgallop and executive produced (and often directed) by M. Night Shyamalan, it’s gained even more unique prescience during the pandemic given its single setting examination of themes like agoraphobia, paranoia, and distrust of others. The show shouldn’t really have worked after its premise was blown up in the first season, but Shyamalan and company continue to find ways to make it entertaining in the first half of chapter three. Concern how to follow up the acclaimed first year led many to predict a sophomore slump, but now it feels like this twisted tale might just hold together until the finish line in its announced fourth and final season."
• Rupert Grint, Toby Kebbell, Lauren Ambrose and Nell Tiger Free discuss what to expect in Season 3
• M. Night Shyamalan explains why Servant is ending with Season 4: "It’s tricky because if you’re doing an episodic show, it’s not as problematic," he tells TVLine. "But on a serialized show, you’re kind of going, 'Did the audience like it? OK, we’ve got another season! What are we doing?' And then we go, 'Wow, they really love it. Oh, the story… we’ve got to keep it going again!' And 'Oh, Season 9, let’s keep on going!” And you feel that we’re just adding on additions to the house rather than (focusing on) its natural design. It’s a tricky balancing act because the information that’s driving you is coming in yearly. Even though our audience has been growing so wonderfully and exponentially, it’s OK if on Episode 40 we have our biggest viewership of all time. Part of the reason I wanted to get to a finish line: I don’t want to be telling a story in relation to the decay or rise of the audience. Hopefully the audience will feel that integrity and it’ll resonate with them as they move forward."