Chris Evans to star in Apple limited-series Defending Jacob

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

With Chris Evans seemingly ready to pass off Captain America's shield following AVENGERS 4, the actor will be moving on to other projects, and one of those upcoming projects will find Evans returning to the realm of television for the first time in well over a decade. Apple has given a straight-to-series order to Defending Jacob, an eight-episode limited-series which will star Chris Evans as Andy Barber, an assistant district attorney who investigates the murder of a 14-year-old boy only to discover that his teenage son is a suspect.

In addition to starring in the series, which is based upon William Landay's best-selling novel of the same name, Chris Evans will also be onboard as an executive producer. Mark Bomback (WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES) will tackle the script as well as serve as show-runner, with Morten Tyldum (THE IMITATION GAME) directing the series. Defending Jacob will be Chris Evans' first regular TV role since 2000, in which he starred in Opposite Sex alongside Milo Ventimiglia (This is Us) and Kyle Howard (Royal Pains). The short-lived Fox comedy/drama lasted all of eight-episodes.

A synopsis of "Defending Jacob" via Amazon:

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney for two decades. He is respected. Admired in the courtroom. Happy at home with the loves of his life: his wife, Laurie, and their teenage son, Jacob. Then Andy’s quiet suburb is stunned by a shocking crime: a young boy stabbed to death in a leafy park. And an even greater shock: The accused is Andy’s own son—shy, awkward, mysterious Jacob.

Andy believes in Jacob’s innocence. Any parent would. But the pressure mounts. Damning evidence. Doubt. A faltering marriage. The neighbors’ contempt. A murder trial that threatens to obliterate Andy’s family. It is the ultimate test for any parent: How far would you go to protect your child? It is a test of devotion. A test of how well a parent can know a child. For Andy Barber, a man with an iron will and a dark secret, it is a test of guilt and innocence in the deepest sense. How far would you go?

Chris Evans will next be seen in AVENGERS 4 on May 3, 2019.