Chris Evans Is A Brooding Dad In First-Look Photos From His New TV Show 'Defending Jacob'

Avengers: Endgame marked the end of the "Infinity Saga," for fans, but for some of the actors, it marked the end of their time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Exiting the MCU is a big step, especially for Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, who both solidified A-list careers with their roles. Both have done a turn on the big screen since (Downey in Doolittle, Evans in Knives Out). Now Evans is making a move to the small screen, with Defending Jacob on Apple TV+. These first-look photos of Chris Evans in Defending Jacob show he'll be playing a family man with dark secrets on the streaming service.

Based on William Landay's best-selling 2012 novel of the same name, Defending Jacob is an American crime story. Massachusetts Assistant District Attorney Andy Barber (Evans) finds himself investigating a murder where his son, Jacob, is slowly uncovered to be the main suspect. Barber and his wife Laurie believe their son to be innocent, even in the face of evidence like a murder weapon and a fingerprint.

But there's a bigger twist: Andy's father, Billy Barber, is a convicted murderer and rapist serving his life sentence. Could a disposition towards violence run in the Barber family, and just happened to skip a generation?

Check out this photo of the Barber family, with Evans and Andy, Jaeden Martell (who has already co-starred with Evans recently in Knives Out) as Jacob, and Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) as Laurie.

At the Television Critics Association winter press tour, showrunner Mark Bomback warned those who have read the book not to assume they know all the twists in the tale. Unlike the novel, which is all told from Andy's point of view, the series takes advantage of TV being an inherent third-person POV to reveal parts of the story that might be unexpected.

Here’s the synopsis for Defending Jacob:

Defending Jacob is a limited drama series that unfolds around a shocking crime that rocks a small Massachusetts town, and follows an Assistant District Attorney who finds himself torn between his sworn duty to uphold justice, and his unconditional love for his son.

The series also features Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Betty Gabriel, and Sakina Jaffrey.

Defending Jacob will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, April 24, 2020, and run eight episodes. Like most of Apple TV+'s shows, it will debut with three installments and then follow with an episode a week..