You probably saw the billboards or the Apple TV+ banners everywhere last year. Jake Gyllenhaal looking intense in a suit, playing a Chicago prosecutor whose life is basically on fire. People kept calling it "the Jake Gyllenhaal lawyer show," though the actual title is Presumed Innocent. It was a massive hit. Honestly, it was Apple’s biggest drama of 2024 for a reason. But if you’ve just finished bingeing it or you're wondering why everyone was screaming about the finale on social media, there’s a lot to unpack about what actually went down in that courtroom.
The Rusty Sabich Problem (Simply Explained)
The show is based on Scott Turow’s 1987 novel. If you’re old enough, you might remember the 1990 movie where Harrison Ford played the lead. In this version, Gyllenhaal plays Rusty Sabich. He's a high-powered attorney who finds himself on the wrong side of the interrogation table when his colleague and secret mistress, Carolyn Polhemus, is found brutally murdered.
It's a mess.
Rusty is obsessed. He's messy. He’s the guy who thinks he can outsmart the system because he is the system. David E. Kelley, the guy behind Big Little Lies and The Lincoln Lawyer, ran the show, so you know the courtroom scenes were going to be sharp. But the real tension wasn't just about the law. It was about Rusty trying to keep his wife, Barbara (played by a fantastic Ruth Negga), from leaving him while he’s being accused of killing the woman he was cheating with.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
If you watched the original movie, you thought you knew the ending. In the 1990 film, it was the wife. Barbara did it.
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But the 2024 show pulled a massive "gotcha."
The finale revealed that it wasn't Rusty. It wasn't Barbara. It was their daughter, Jaden. She went over to Carolyn’s house to confront her, found out Carolyn was pregnant with Rusty's baby, and snapped. She hit her with a fire poker. Multiple times.
What’s even wilder is that Rusty thought Barbara did it. He spent the entire season covering up evidence because he was convinced he was protecting his wife. He even tied Carolyn up at the crime scene to make it look like a serial killer's work, which is some truly dark, "loyal husband" behavior for a guy who was already cheating.
Why the Twist Divided Fans
Some people loved it. Others? Not so much. Time Magazine called the finale "shocking but silly," arguing that making a teenage girl the killer felt like a cheap way to subvert expectations. It’s a valid point. Jaden didn't exactly scream "homicidal" throughout the season, but the show explained it away as a moment of "dissociation."
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Whether you buy it or not, it definitely kept people talking.
Who Was Who in the Courtroom?
The cast was stacked. It wasn't just the Jake Gyllenhaal show; the supporting players really carried the heavy lifting during those long trial episodes.
- Peter Sarsgaard as Tommy Molto: In real life, Peter is actually Jake’s brother-in-law. On screen? They hated each other. Molto was the lead prosecutor, a guy with a chip on his shoulder and a weirdly empty apartment.
- Bill Camp as Raymond Horgan: He played Rusty’s mentor and defense attorney. He had a heart attack in the middle of the trial (literally) but still showed up to fight.
- Renate Reinsve as Carolyn Polhemus: Most of her scenes were flashbacks, but she made Carolyn feel like a real person rather than just a victim.
Is There a Season 2?
Yes. But here’s the kicker: Jake Gyllenhaal isn't coming back as the lead.
Presumed Innocent is turning into an anthology series. Since Rusty Sabich’s story ended with that awkward Thanksgiving dinner where everyone knows Jaden is a killer but nobody is calling the cops, the show is moving on to a completely new case.
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Season 2 is going to be based on a different book called Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray. It follows a defense lawyer named Leila Reynolds. As of late 2025/early 2026, we know that Rachel Brosnahan (from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) is taking the lead. She’ll be joined by Matthew Rhys and Jack Reynor.
Gyllenhaal is still an executive producer, so his DNA is on the project, but don't expect to see Rusty Sabich arguing in court again anytime soon.
Actionable Takeaways for the Super-Fan
If you’re still thinking about the show, here’s what you should do next to get the full experience:
- Watch the 1990 movie. It’s on most VOD platforms. Compare how Harrison Ford plays the "innocent" man versus Gyllenhaal’s more aggressive, unhinged version. The ending change alone makes it worth the rewatch.
- Read the Jo Murray book. Since Season 2 is based on Dissection of a Murder, reading it now will give you a head start on the theories for next year.
- Pay attention to the background in Season 1. If you rewatch, look at Jaden. There are subtle clues about her "dissociative" state that most of us missed because we were too busy looking at Rusty's sweaty forehead.
The "Jake Gyllenhaal lawyer show" was a rare case of a remake actually standing on its own. It took a classic story, messed with the DNA, and gave us an ending that nobody saw coming—even if it made us all a little uncomfortable.