All rise! All rise! Presumed Innocent news incoming. Following the announcement that Apple TV+'s starry legal drama has been renewed for Season 2 last July, many — us included — have been speculating about whether the show's sophomore outing would take a more anthological approach, the case surrounding Jake Gyllenhaal's Chicagoan prosecutor Rusty Sabich having been put to bed during Season 1's revelatory finale. And now we know that not only will Presumed Innocent Season 2 adapt a different book from a different author, but also that Superman star Rachel Brosnahan will lead and executive produce this latest run of episodes.
Per Variety's reporting, having adapted Scott Turow's eponymous book with Season 1, showrunners David E. Kelley and Erica Lipez will be tackling Jo Murray's as-yet-unreleased Dissection Of A Murder for Season 2. And while Apple itself hasn't released a plot synopsis for the season ahead, book publishers Pan Macmillan tease another morally fraught did-they-dunit this time around. "When Leila Reynolds is handed her first murder case, she’s shocked at how high-profile it is: the murder of a well-respected, well-known judge," reads the publisher's synopsis. "This shouldn’t be the kind of case she’s leading; it’s way beyond her expertise. But the defendant, Jack Millman, is clear. He wants her, and only her." Cue a high-pressure case in which Leila — who Brosnahan will play in the series — has to contend with a defendant who refuses to speak, a murder that may not be as cut-and-dry as it seems, and ol' faithful "buried secrets" from her own past that are dying to come out.
The first season of Presumed Innocent was a real doozy — an impeccably acted, brilliantly written, character driven legal thriller that managed to sustain a sense of mystery all season long despite the Harrison Ford movie and the book that preceded it. And while we may have a little wait yet before court is back in session for Kelley, Lipez, Brosnahan and co on Season 2 (Murray's book isn't out until next year, and presumably the show won't precede the book's release), we've no doubt already that this team has the necessary conviction to pull off a blinder once again.