The Alienist Information

The Alienist is an American period drama television series based on the novel of the same name by Caleb Carr. The ten-episode limited series first aired on TNT as a sneak peek on January 21, 2018, before its official premiere on January 22, 2018, and ended on March 26, 2018. The series stars Daniel Brhl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning as an ad hoc team assembled in mid-1890s New York City to investigate a serial killer who is murdering street children. The series incorporates fact with fiction by including the characters that are historical figures, such as Theodore Roosevelt, who held the post of police commissioner from 1895 to 1897. On August 16, 2018, TNT ordered a sequel series based around the follow-up novel The Angel of Darkness.

Premise

The psychological thriller drama is set in 1896, when a series of gruesome murders of boy prostitutes has gripped New York City. Newly appointed police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt calls upon Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a criminal psychologist and John Moore, a newspaper illustrator, to conduct the investigation in secret. Joining them in the probe is Sara Howard, the headstrong secretary to the police commissioner, as well as the Jewish twin brothers Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, both detective sergeants in the NYPD.

The team finds opposition within the NYPD, primarily from Captain Connor and the recently retired Chief Byrnes, both of whom are more committed to protecting the reputations of New York's high society than they are to finding the perpetrators of the crimes; as well as from the working poor and lower class citizens who distrust them for being outsiders.

Opening title:

Cast

Main

• Daniel Brhl as Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist (or alienist) who has focused recently on children suffering from mental illnesses, called upon by his former Harvard classmate Theodore Roosevelt to try to get into the psychology behind grisly child murders. He is German and comes from a well-off family, but lives alone save for his maid, valet, and stable boy. He suffers from a lame arm, and frequently seeks out the insight of former patients and criminals for help with his investigations and research.
• Luke Evans as John Schuyler Moore, a New York Times cartoonist and illustrator, as well as a society man who attended Harvard with Dr. Kreizler and Roosevelt. He lives with his grandmother, and is estranged from his father following the drowning death of his brother. He is handsome and charming, but is an alcoholic and frequenter of brothels, and remains unmarried after his fiancee left him for another man. Like Roosevelt, he has known Sara since she was young.
• Brian Geraghty as Theodore Roosevelt, then the newly-appointed Commissioner of the NYPD. He is portrayed as commanding respect from certain people, but remains malleable by society's most venerable as well as veteran NYPD officers. He attended Harvard with Dr. Kreizler and Moore, both of whom he calls upon to mount a secret, parallel investigation into the child murders. He employs Sara Howard as his secretary, having known her father, and thinks highly of her.
• Robert Ray Wisdom as Cyrus Montrose, Kreizler's valet whom he employed after testifying on Cyrus' behalf during a murder trial.
• Douglas Smith as Marcus Isaacson, a young Jewish detective sergeant with the NYPD whom Roosevelt enlists to work with Kreizler, Moore, and Howard. He is Lucius' twin brother, and like his brother, is well versed in science and general crime scene investigation. He becomes involved with a Jewish socialist.
• Matthew Shear as Lucius Isaacson, Marcus' twin brother and another detective sergeant with the NYPD. He is much more cautious and restrained than Marcus, and eager to utilize the latest scientific techniques to solve crimes.
• Q'orianka Kilcher as Mary Palmer, Kreizler's maid. Like Cyrus, he took her in after she was acquitted for murder. She is mute and uses sign language to communicate, and has an affection for Kreizler.
• Matt Lintz as Stevie Taggert, a youthful ward and stable boy of Kreizler's who often assists Cyrus, as well as gets involved in the team's investigation.
• Dakota Fanning as Sara Howard, a young society woman who becomes Roosevelt's secretary and the first woman employed by the NYPD. She spent time in a sanitarium after the death of her father, whom Roosevelt and Moore both knew. She is composed and determined to not allow her male colleagues to disparage her. She gets involved with the team as a liaison between Roosevelt and Kreizler and Moore. The character is loosely based upon the story of Isabella Goodwin, New York's first female detective.

Recurring

• Antonio Magro as Paul Kelly, a mobster who runs a brothel frequented by high society men.
• David Wilmot as Captain Connor, an Irish police officer who dislikes Roosevelt and who tries to subvert the team's investigations at every possible turn.
• Jackson Gann as Joseph, a young boy who works at a brothel and who endears himself to Moore.
• Ted Levine as Thomas F. Byrnes, the retired police chief who steers Connor toward protecting the rich and wealthy from being persecuted for their crimes and indescretions.
• Emanuela Postacchini as Flora, a high-end prostitute who counts Moore as one of her clients.
• Michael Ironside as J.P. Morgan, the financier and banker. He uses Connor and Byrnes as his muscle to enforce protecting his fellow members of high society.
• Sean Young as Mrs. Van Bergen, the matriarch of the fictional van Bergen family. She is generally unperturbed by rumors about her son's actions, but nonetheless is compelled by Byrnes to take action to protect him.
• Josef Altin as Willem Van Bergen, a young man who preys on prepubescent boys. He suffers from siphilys.
• Peter McRobbie as Mayor William Lafayette Strong, the mayor of New York City from 1895 - 1897. He echoes Morgan and Byrnes' concerns for the city's upper crust.
• Stephen Louis Grush as Jesse Pomeroy, a real-life child murderer from Boston. In the show's history, Kreizler attempted to study Pomeroy early in his career.
• David Meunier as Adam Dury, a farmer from the countryside.
• Bill Heck as John Beechum

Production

Development

In April 2015, it was reported that Paramount Television would adapt The Alienist as an event television series in partnership with Anonymous Content. Paramount also announced that Oscar-winning Forrest Gump screenwriter Eric Roth had come on board the project as an executive producer, as had Hossein Amini as both writer for the series and executive producer. It also announced that True Detective director Cary Fukunaga would direct all the episodes and serve as an executive producer.

In May 2015, it was reported that TNT had made a deal to produce the series at $5 million per episode. In July 2015, writer and director John Sayles announced on his blog that he was joining the series as a writer. On July 21, 2015, Caleb Carr made an announcement that he was coming on board the series as a consulting producer.

In September 2016, director Jakob Verbruggen replaced Fukunaga as director due to scheduling conflicts, though Fukunaga remained an executive producer.

Casting

On November 28, 2016, it was reported that Daniel Brhl was cast as Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and Luke Evans as John Moore. Dakota Fanning was later cast as Sara Howard on January 14, 2017. On February 8, 2017, it was reported that Robert Wisdom was cast as Cyrus Montrose and Q'orianka Kilcher as Mary Palmer. Matt Lintz was cast as Stevie Taggert on February 15, 2017. On February 17, 2017, it was reported that Matthew Shear joined the cast as Lucius Isaacson. Douglas Smith was cast as Marcus Isaacson and Ted Levine as Thomas F. Byrnes on February 28, 2017. It was reported that Emanuela Postacchini was cast as Flora on March 17, 2017. On April 19, 2017, it was reported that Brian Geraghty was cast as Theodore Roosevelt.

Episodes

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| ProdCode = 102 | Viewers = 1.93 | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 000000 }}

| ProdCode = 103 | Viewers = 1.64 | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 000000 }}

| ProdCode = 104 | Viewers = 1.68 | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 000000 }}

| ProdCode = 105 | Viewers = 1.59 | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 000000 }}

| ProdCode = 106 | Viewers = 1.73 | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 000000 }}

| ProdCode = 107 | Viewers = 1.65 | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 000000 }}

| ProdCode = 108 | Viewers = 1.80 | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 000000 }}

| ProdCode = 109 | Viewers = 1.71 | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 000000 }}

| ProdCode = 110 | Viewers = 1.84 | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 000000 }} }}

Broadcast

International rights for the series were acquired by Netflix.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 64% based on 61 reviews, with an average rating of 6.92/10. On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ratings

General ratings

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DVR ratings

</ref> | dvrv2 = 1.93 | total2 = 0.96 | totalv2 = 3.86

| title3 = Silver Smile | date3 = February 5, 2018 | rs3 = 0.37 | viewers3 = 1.64 | dvr3 = 0.6 | dvrv3 = 1.80 | total3 = 0.97 | totalv3 = 3.44

| title4 = These Bloody Thoughts | date4 = February 12, 2018 | rs4 = 0.41 | viewers4 = 1.68 | dvr4 = | dvrv4 = | total4 = | totalv4 =

| title5 = Hildebrandt's Starling | date5 = February 19, 2018 | rs5 = 0.36 | viewers5 = 1.59 | dvr5 = | dvrv5 = | total5 = | totalv5 =

| title6 = Ascension | date6 = February 26, 2018 | rs6 = 0.45 | viewers6 = 1.73 | dvr6 = 0.4 | dvrv6 = 1.77 | total6 = 0.85 | totalv6 = 3.50

| title7 = Many Sainted Men | date7 = March 5, 2018 | rs7 = 0.37 | viewers7 = 1.65 | dvr7 = 0.5 | dvrv7 = 1.88 | total7 = 0.87 | totalv7 = 3.53

| title8 = Psychopathia Sexualis | date8 = March 12, 2018 | rs8 = 0.42 | viewers8 = 1.80 | dvr8 = 0.5 | dvrv8 = 1.73 | total8 = 0.92 | totalv8 = 3.53

| title9 = Requiem | date9 = March 19, 2018 | rs9 = 0.39 | viewers9 = 1.71 | dvr9 = 0.5 | dvrv9 = 1.87 | total9 = 0.89 | totalv9 = 3.57

| title10 = Castle in the Sky | date10 = March 26, 2018 | rs10 = 0.37 | viewers10 = 1.84 | dvr10 = 0.5 | dvrv10 = 1.67 | total10 = 0.87 | totalv10 = 3.51 }}

Accolades

	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
2018	44th Saturn Awards	Best Action-Thriller Television Series	The Alienist
		Best Supporting Actress on Television	Dakota Fanning
	70th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Limited Series	The Alienist
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie	PJ Dillon (for "The Boy on the Bridge")
		Outstanding Main Title Design	Angus Wall, Lisa Bolan, Yongsub Song, Charles Khoury, Heidi Berg, Felix Soletic
		Outstanding Period Costumes	Michael Kaplan, Rudy Mance, Beta Merkovits, Andrew Hunt (for "A Fruitful Partnership")
		Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More)	Mara LePere-Schloop, Bill Crutcher, Karl Probert, Alice Baker (for "The Boy on the Bridge")
		Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role	Kent Houston, Wendy Garfinkle, Tim Barter, Rasik Gorecha, Martin Lake, Doug Larmour, Alison Griffiths, Steve Murgatroyd, Harin Hirani (for "The Boy on the Bridge")