‘The Sinner’: Jessica Biel On TV Show’s Unique Outlook On Sin, Series Will Rattle Viewers

The Sinner is one of the many new TV shows premiering in summer 2017. This particular series stars Jessica Biel as Cora Tannetti, a seemingly normal wife and mother who suddenly loses it at a beach. In front of everyone, including her young son, she viciously stabs a man in the neck with the knife she was using to peel fruit. In a new interview with TV Guide, the actress talks about the television show. She teases that it provides a unique outlook on sin and it will rattle people.

The 7th Heaven alum explains that nothing shakes society anymore. Due to the explosion of the internet and social media, people read shocking stories every single day. In this day and age, it is rare that a story will shock people to their core. Biel believes that The Sinner will be one of those rare tales that really rattles those who watch it.

“Nothing surprises us anymore. As a society, we’ve seen everything already because we can just find it online. Nothing is salacious. Nothing makes us curious.”

In The Sinner, Cora and her husband, Mason (Christopher Abbot), are normal people who live pretty boring and routine lives. Cora does take pills for her insomnia, which might be a clue that something is keeping the young woman awake at night. However, a lot of people take medication to help them sleep, so it’s not something that would stand out.

When Cora Tannetti stabs a 29-year-old med student, she doesn’t just pierce his skin once. She plunges the knife into his neck and chest nine times before she is pulled off of the man. The mystery seems to begin with the question of why. However, Cora doesn’t know what caused her to suddenly attack a man she claims is a stranger.

For potential viewers that think they will figure it out, Jessica Biel thought the same thing when she was reading the novel, which the show is based on.

“As I read, I kept going, ‘I know where this is going – there’s no way this could be interesting. And then it would just take a completely different direction.'”

Detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) takes a special interest in Cora’s case. They already know the identity of the killer. They have witnesses, the murder weapon, and a confession. What they don’t know is the motive. What drove this seemingly normal mother to go into a blind rage and brutally murder another human being, someone Cora claims she has never met before?

The question of why will pull viewers into Cora’s strict Catholic upbringing, her childhood, and her teen years. It will bring up memories that she either doesn’t want to recall or subconsciously blocked out.

However, Ambrose is no angel and has demons of his own. There is a reason why he connects with Cora in The Sinner, explains writer and executive producer Derek Simonds.

“I didn’t want to create another Sherlock Holmes character, who’s just smart and faster than everyone else. Ambrose has a certain sensitivity to Cora because he has the emotional experience to see deeper into other people.”

As for the title of the show, don’t assume that The Sinner is referencing the murderer. Most people don’t consider themselves sinners. Simonds explains that people trick themselves with religious ideas like heaven and hell. So, who is the sinner in this story if it isn’t Cora? The man she murdered, who must have done something? Her parents for their strict religious upbringing that made her childhood difficult? Or is it a reference to people in general?

What is known is that Cora’s past includes a trauma she experienced. Even her seemingly perfect husband, Mason, might have some connection to the people who hurt the main character. Mason will be doing his own investigation, which leads to some consequences for Ambrose’s case, as well as Mason’s relationship with his wife.

“Cora’s violence turns their life upside down. It forces both of them to deal with their own respective histories and get to know each other on a more honest level. They’ll have to decide all over again if this is the marriage they want to be in.”

Biel says that at certain times, everyone wears a mask. It is often seen on social media, where people talk about how great their lives are. Simonds adds that this is even seen with the world’s perception of Jessica when explaining the complicated, unpredictable, twisted storyline.

“We have this certain image of Jessica Biel that tends to lean more toward the wholesome, earthy, approachable woman. The Sinner starts with that image and then rips the lid off of it. We see another side of Cora and of Jessica Biel, the actress. It’s a really brave, really raw thing for her to say, ‘Actually, everybody is more complicated and secretly dealing with trauma.'”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQfs06U65z4

The summer TV show definitely sounds intriguing. However, are people prepared to find out what happens when Cora Tannetti’s hidden trauma breaks from her subconscious and into the present world (or more technically, into a man’s neck)? Will viewers begin asking themselves questions about their own pasts and what they can be capable of once the mind can no longer keep those secrets locked away? Tune in on August 2, when The Sinner premieres on USA network.

[Featured Image by Tinseltown/Shutterstock]