Servant

Strange, eerie, and compelling, M. Night Shyamalan's buzzy series is simultaneously engrossing and leisurely -- one might almost say it creeps along while giving you the creeps. Viewers who have seen a scary nanny story before will guess right away that Leanne's "Up to Something" when she pulls up to the Turner's house in the driving rain, even before she gives strangely terse answers to their many questions, and sends off signals that she has an unusual bond with Jericho. For his part, Sean isn't a lot easier to like or to understand -- though he calls himself a "professional bon vivant," we witness a horrific part of his "consulting chef" work that involves nailing live eels to a board, and it's clear from his flat statement to his wife about Leanne ("She's staff") that he sees a great distance between himself and the humble young woman he's employed.

But though Shyamalan is judicious about how quickly he doles out his signature twists -- he's said in interviews that it'll take six seasons to tell Servant's complete story -- the atmosphere is chock-full of juicy tension, and the actors are more than up to the challenge of teetering on the edge between sympathetic and horrific. Speaking of sympathetic characters, Rupert Grint is a hoot as Dorothy's ne'er do well brother, nailing a spot-on American accent and a role so far away from Ron Weasley that viewers will quickly forget they watched Grint grow up onscreen. Servant isn't a hurry to get anywhere, but tenacious viewers will find their patience rewarded.