Apple TV+ has added another Emmy-winning actor to the cast of its legal thriller Presumed Innocent. Matthew Rhys, best known for his performances in The Americans and Perry Mason, has boarded the anthology series for its upcoming second season.
Season two will be adapted from author Jo Murray’s forthcoming novel Dissection of a Murder. The streamer has kept specific plot points under wraps, but according to publisher Pan Macmillan’s synopsis, the story will centre on an attorney (played by Rachel Brosnahan) defending a man accused of murdering a judge. Jack Reynor will also play a key role in the new season.
The first instalment of Presumed Innocent drew from Scott Turow’s classic novel of the same name, previously adapted into a 1990 film led by Harrison Ford. The Apple series starred Jake Gyllenhaal, Ruth Negga and Peter Sarsgaard, with David E. Kelley and JJ Abrams serving as executive producers. Following its renewal, the show was restructured as an anthology format to explore different legal thrillers each season.
Behind the scenes, Presumed Innocent season two is produced by Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and David E Kelley Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Kelley and Erica Lipez serve as showrunners and executive producers alongside Abrams, Rachel Rusch Rich, Matthew Tinker, Dustin Thomason, Brosnahan and Gyllenhaal. Authors Turow and Murray will also executive produce.
Rhys’ casting comes as he continues to expand his television slate. He is also starring in Apple TV+’s Widow’s Bay, a drama about a seemingly cursed New England seaside community. His upcoming projects include Netflix’s The Beast in Mewith Claire Danes, debuting in November, and Prime Video’s Silent River, a serial-killer drama co-starring John Krasinski.
