The refreshed leadership at Netflix has decided to back Gwyneth Paltrow once again. In the wake of the replacement of the head of content Bela Bajaria with Peter Rice, followed by the departure of the head of the film division, Dan Lin, news arrives of the immediate greenlight for The Apology, a thriller from the same production studio behind the award-winning Beef – The Clash, A24, starring the Oscar-winning actress for Shakespeare in Love, who has previously been among the faces of the dramedy The Politician. For Paltrow, this marks her first lead role in a TV series, directed by the Oscar-nominated Thomas Vinterberg (Another Day).
The Apology: The Plot of the TV Series with Gwyneth Paltrow
Netflix is so convinced of the project that it has immediately ordered two seasons. Written by Joe Murtagh (Don’t Say a Word), The Apology follows the lives of Evelyn (Paltrow) and Caleb Amspoker, whose son was murdered 18 years ago in an unsolved case that at the time held the nation in suspense. When an unknown comes forward confessing the crime, justice seems finally within reach. However, there emerges the possibility that the killer could get off with a reduced sentence. Facing an unbearable truth, Evelyn and Caleb decide to take justice into their own hands.
According to Deadline, Rice, who took over from Bajaria in the final hours, did not participate in the decision to order The Apology. Jinny Howe, head of scripted series for the United States and Canada, interfaced directly with the platform’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos. While Howe’s position currently appears solid, the other major changes — including the layoff of about 1,000 employees — come at a time when Wall Street is growing concerned about a slowdown in user engagement growth. With The Apology, Netflix seems to be aiming to reaffirm its dominance by symbolically returning to its origins, when in 2011 it entered the world of original-content production with the immediate order of two seasons of House of Cards, starring another Oscar winner, Kevin Spacey.
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