Dakota Fanning’s 2-Season Sci-Fi Thriller Is a Hidden Gem
Fans of dark, stylish mysteries will appreciate The Alienist, a Dakota Fanning-led series that masterfully blends crime and psychology. Though it initially comes across as a typical gloomy period mystery with cobblestone streets, gas lamps, and corseted intrigue, it reveals itself as one of the most thoughtful, slow-burning thrillers of the last decade.
Plot and Setting
The two-season show from TNT stars Dakota Fanning, Daniel Brühl, and Luke Evans, and explores the origins of criminal psychology, forensic science, and early women's equality efforts. It is set in the atmospheric and detailed 1890s New York City.
Source Material
The series is adapted from Caleb Carr’s 1994 best-selling novel, The Alienist, and follows Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Brühl), a criminal psychologist—known then as an "alienist"—who is tasked by Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty) with investigating a string of brutal murders involving street children.
Story Dynamics
The show portrays a stark contrast in 1896 Manhattan: opulent mansions stand just blocks away from brothels and tenements housing vulnerable street kids. Kreizler teams up with illustrator John Moore (Evans) and Sara Howard (Fanning), Roosevelt’s ambitious secretary and the NYPD’s first female employee, to solve these crimes.
"The Alienist looks like another gloomy period mystery — with cobblestone streets, gas lamps, and corseted intrigue. Yet, the deeper and closer you look, the more you'll find one of the most intelligent, slow-burning thrillers of the past decade."
Author's summary:
The Alienist offers a compelling mix of psychological crime-solving and historical atmosphere, making it a standout, slow-burning thriller rich in character and social depth.