By Kevin E G Perry

Copyright independent

Apple TV+ has decided to postpone the release of its new thriller series, The Savant.

The show, which stars Jessica Chastain as a woman investigating domestic extremists, had been set to premiere on September 26.

In a statement to The Independent, Apple TV+ said: “After careful consideration, we have made the decision to postpone The Savant. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to releasing the series at a future date.”

No reason for the delay was stated, although the decision is believed to have been influenced by concerns over the subject matter in light of the recent killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

An official synopsis for the series states: “The tense and thrilling series follows an undercover investigator known as ‘The Savant’ (Jessica Chastain) as she infiltrates online hate groups in an effort to stop domestic extremists before they act.”

The killing of Kirk has had a far-reaching impact on American television. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily taken off the air after joking about the political allegiances of Kirk’s alleged killer.

During September 14’s episode of the talk show, Kimmel accused Republicans of using Kirk’s death to score political points. He also joked that President Trump was grieving the conservative activist’s murder “the way a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”

Disney, the parent company of ABC, announced the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in a statement yesterday, saying: “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.

“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”

The late night talk show will remain unavailable on some local networks as Nexstar Media and Sinclair Inc continue to boycott the show.

Nexstar said in a statement: “We made a decision last week to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s ‘ill-timed and insensitive’ comments at a critical time in our national discourse.

“We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.”

The company added: “In the meantime, we note that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.”

Nexstar and Sinclair’s decision to boycott Kimmel means that in total nearly one-third of ABC stations nationwide will not carry the show.