Set in New York City in 1896, this adaptation of Caleb Carr‘s beloved bestselling novel finds the metropolis at the crossroads between the 19th and 20th centuries, where new money shows itself in opera house boxes just a trolley ride away from abject poverty in tenements. Modern science is at odds with ancient scripture, and the old world and new world clash on the dirty streets and in rat-infested hallways. TNT‘s “The Alienist” imagines this time as the setting for a serial killer to wreak havoc on the town, as it tries to claw its way out of storied political and police corruption into a new era.
The show itself reveals a network between two worlds. This isn’t the TNT of “We Know Drama” fare, with sleek, safe procedurals like “Rizzoli and Isles” and “Major Crimes.” Hinted at by 2016’s “Animal Kingdom” and “Good Behavior,” this is a new direction for the channel that wants to be mentioned in the same breath as AMC and FX for prestige cable. Cary Fukunaga was initially set to direct post-“True Detective,” but he’s since taken on an executive producer role with “House of Cards” and “Black Mirror” helmer Jakob Verbruggen taking the reins on the first two episodes made available to press. “The Alienist” won’t propel TNT to the the heights of peak TV’s greatest content providers, but it is a huge step for the network and an engaging, clearly expensive experience on its own.
“The Alienist” wastes no time in introducing us to its gritty world, opening its premiere episode “The Boy on the Bridge” with the discovery of a young male prostitute’s body on the construction site of the Williamsburg Bridge. Dressed as a girl and brutally mutilated, the victim draws the attention of Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl), an “alienist” alternately respected and reviled for his early work in what would later be psychology and psychiatry. He brings on his friend, New York Times illustrator John Moore (Luke Evans) to create an image of the body at the crime scene. “What kind of devil could do such a thing?” asks police commissioner – and future president – Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty).
Kreizler aims to use his new methods, as well as the latest science, to solve the crime. He continues to enlist Moore for help, as well as bringing on the police’s first female secretary Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning) and two detective brothers, Marcus (Douglas Smith) and Lucius Isaacson (Matthew Shear), who work in forensics. They soon discover that the boy isn’t the first victim, nor is he likely to be the last. Second episode “A Fruitful Partnership” dives more deeply into the crime, as well as attempts to cover it up.
Like last year’s “Mindhunter” “The Alienist” explores the origins of contemporary criminology, with techniques like fingerprinting being discussed as revolutionary and brand new. And like the Netflix drama, this TNT series also intermixes real-life personalities with fictional characters. Along with Roosevelt, we meet J.P. Morgan (Michael Ironside) and Biff Ellison (Falk Hentschel). With these historical figures and impeccable period detail, the show creates a believable world for its imagined crimes to take place. Budapest, Hungary stands in for turn-of-the-century New York, with both interiors and exteriors showing the money TNT paid for production. But the detail doesn’t just serve to demonstrate TNT’s seriousness or even to establish a realistic backdrop for fiction; “The Alienist” is compelling in its atmosphere, contrasting the city’s grime with its newfound glamour. This setting directly impacts the story and the efforts of Kreizler and his team to find a serial killer.
With only the first two episodes out of its ten total available for press, it’s too early to tell if newcomers and Carr fans alike will obsess over these murders on screen like the characters do. “The Boy on the Bridge” and “A Fruitful Partnership” are largely intriguing, but both hours slow down at points and may not give enough meat to the uninitiated to chew on. Beyond the central crimes, flashes of insight into Evans’ Moore and Fanning’s Sara may provide additional incentive to keep watching. His vices cast him in the traditional flawed hero role, but also serve to comment on the layers of the city’s morality. Sara is given additional depth and perspective beyond Carr’s novel, with an alternately steely and soft performance from Fanning. Her struggles as the sole female employee of the police seem timely for our 21st century conversations without seeming out of place in the 19th century. Brühl’s Kreizler is (intentionally) still a mystery, but it’s a welcome change to see the actor playing a hero after portraying so many antagonists.
With its precisely executed setting and unsettling mystery, “The Alienist” will appeal to true crime lovers, fans of the original novel and NYC history buffs, but its early episodes don’t elevate it to must-see viewing for others in such a crowded environment. It may bring TNT a desired new audience, but the challenge will be for it to hold onto them after these initial hours. [B]