Saint X, a drama about the aftermath of a young woman’s mysterious death during a Caribbean vacation, debuts on Hulu April 26. Adapted from the 2020 novel by Alexis Schaitkin, there are eight episodes.
Leila Gerstein is the showrunner and executive producer. Alycia Debnam-Carey, Josh Bonzie, West Duchovny, Betsy Brandt, Jayden Elijah and Bre Francis are in the cast.
Gerstein read the novel in 2019 and loved it, she said at the TCA Winter Press Tour, but was reluctant about bringing it to the screen. “I didn't think that I would want to do a show about a dead girl, to be honest,” she said.
Gerstein, whose credits include Hart of Dixie, The Handmaid's Tale and Gossip Girl, called Schaitkin “a beautiful writer,” and was intrigued to give adapting the novel a try. “The weaving together of the various timelines was the fun and the trick of the adaptation,” she said. “And these beautiful actors — I got to bring them to life in ways that I never imagined.”
A review on A.V. Club said, “At first glance, Saint X, the new Hulu adaptation of Alexis Schaitkin’s ambitious novel of the same name, seems like an intriguing vehicle to tackle a laundry list of thorny but timely topics: Race, class, privilege, sexuality, and missing white woman syndrome. But whereas the source material excels as an engrossing examination of human relationships, Leila Gerstein’s eight-part series, which premieres April 26, buckles under the weight of its own ambition, burying any social commentary in a convoluted, long-winded story that ultimately comes to an unsatisfying conclusion.”
Betsy Brandt played Marie Schrader on Breaking Bad. She plays the missing girl’s mother in Saint X. She spoke about envisioning the disappearance of her own child while shooting the show. “I have my own kids and my own imagining of loss,” she said, adding, “I was like, people who have gone through this, I hope to God that I'm doing them justice.”
Saint X is a production of ABC Signature.
Stephen Williams also executive produces, with David Levine and Zack Hayden for Anonymous Content, Aubrey Graham, Adel “Future” Nur and Jason Shrier for DreamCrew Entertainment. Alexis Schaitkin and Steve Pearlman executive produce, too.
Aubrey Graham is better known as the rapper/singer/songwriter Drake. “We felt Drake's love and presence throughout,” Gerstein said.
