Apple TV’s 6-Year Legal Battle With M. Night Shyamalan Officially Ends
A US appeals court has upheld a jury’s finding that the makers of Apple TV’s *Servant* did not have access to Francesca Gregorini’s film *The Truth About Emanuel* before creating the series. The ruling, issued on 22 October, ends a six-year legal dispute over Gregorini’s claim that *Servant* copied elements of her 2013 film.
Gregorini sued in 2020, citing similarities in plot, tone, characters and visual style, including a grieving mother caring for a lifelike doll and a nanny who bonds with it. A judge dismissed the case that year and ordered Gregorini to pay $160,000 in legal fees, but the case was revived in 2022 and that fee award was overturned. In 2025, a jury sided with Apple and Shyamalan, finding the *Servant* team had not accessed the film; the appeals court has now left that verdict in place.
In short
- Appeals court upholds the jury’s verdict in the *Servant* copyright dispute.
- Gregorini alleged the series copied her 2013 film.
- The ruling brings the six-year case to an end.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Gregorini’s strongest case is that the reported parallels in premise, character relationships, tone and visual style may be substantial enough to raise a legitimate question about whether her film’s creative choices were echoed in Servant. A creator can reasonably seek legal scrutiny when a later work appears to share distinctive elements, even if proving copying requires more than showing resemblance.
The case against
Apple and Shyamalan’s strongest case is that similarity alone does not establish copying: the jury found the series’ makers had not accessed Gregorini’s film, and the appeals court upheld that finding. Without evidence of access, the resemblance may reflect independent creative choices rather than appropriation, so the verdict supports ending the dispute.
Explained simply
Servant is a psychological drama series made for Apple TV and developed by Tony Basgallop, with M. Night Shyamalan among its executive producers. Francesca Gregorini’s 2013 film The Truth About Emanuel also centres on a grieving mother, a lifelike doll and a nanny who becomes involved in the family’s life.
Gregorini argued that the series copied elements of her film and sued Apple and those involved in Servant in 2020. The case turned in part on whether the series’ makers had seen the film before creating the show, as well as on the similarities she identified.
Copyright disputes about films and television can involve both similarities between works and evidence of access to an earlier work. The case matters to Gregorini, Apple and Shyamalan, and its outcome leaves the jury’s finding that the Servant team had not accessed her film in place.