X
- 2018
- TV-MA
- TNT
- 2018
- TV-MA
- TNT
Summary The adaptation of Caleb Carr's novel set in 1895 where after a series of murders of prostitutes in New York City causes police commissioner (and future president) Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty) to ask for help from an alienist (aka criminal psychologist) Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) and New York Times society illustrator John ...
- 2018
- TV-MA
- TNT
- 2018
- TV-MA
- TNT
The Alienist
Season 1 Premiere: Jan 21, 2018
60
6.4
Where to Watch
Summary The adaptation of Caleb Carr's novel set in 1895 where after a series of murders of prostitutes in New York City causes police commissioner (and future president) Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty) to ask for help from an alienist (aka criminal psychologist) Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) and New York Times society illustrator John ...
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
60
39% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
61% Mixed
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
60
39% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
61% Mixed
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The production design and costumes often speak more eloquently than any of the characters, and work overtime to communicate subtext that feels a lot more fresh than most of the text. Despite the apparent dependence on CGI, which is true of nearly everything these days, the images are still overwhelmingly tactile. The direction by Jakob Verbruggen is consistently superb, with flourishes that can sincerely be called virtuoso. And the totality of the thing can’t fail to impress.
The Alienist is a gripping, multilayered detective story, prompting us of course to want to know who is killing the boys and for what perverse reason, but also wanting to know the men and the woman who are trying to find those answers as well.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 155 User Ratings
6.4
63% Positive
97 Ratings
97 Ratings
13% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
25% Negative
38 Ratings
38 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 155 User Ratings
6.4
63% Positive
97 Ratings
97 Ratings
13% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
25% Negative
38 Ratings
38 Ratings
Excellent, really a brilliant show, excellent suspense . Well worth watching
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The Alienist never quite joined the ranks of The Americans or even Boardwalk Empire as a “great” period drama series, and Angel of Darkness doesn’t really see the show making that leap in quality. But sometimes all you want is a really compelling murder mystery with high production value and compelling characters, and in that way The Alienist: Angel of Darkness delivers.
The book had all kinds of novelty going for it in the mid-’90s. The TV show lacks that same capacity to surprise, so it (based on the two episodes TNT gave critics) has to lean much more on its story and characters, which were on the sketchy side to begin with. ... The actors are all good, Brühl in particular finding the balance between altruism and obsession, but don’t especially elevate the middling material. (The period setting also forgives the hodgepodge of accents.)
The early hours are mostly placid, even docile. What must have come to life in the pages of the book struggles to find so much as a spark on the screen — difficult, admittedly, through the pall of smoke and shadows that tend to choke it. The characters are bland, too.
Both the tone and the visual style are dark and murky, and while some of the historical details are fascinating, the crime drama around them is tedious and tiresome in any era.
All the good acting here, and all the lush Gilded Age costuming, can’t distract us from the tedium of the storytelling.
ive only started watching this recently over the pandemic but that being said i cant help but wonder why it took me so long this was one of the absolute best programs ive seen in awhile dakota fanning is beautiful and flawless as lady sara the action the drama the everything is perfect i highly recommend it just not for kids too much sex and violence
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Season 2 / Temporada 2
(Español / English)
Las heridas que no sanan / The wounds that don't heal
Extracto:
La segunda temporada de este policial gótico victoriano que se desarrolla en la Nueva York de fines del siglo XIX luce menos audaz y original que la primera, pero exhibe una dureza y oscuridad acaso mayor, la solvencia actoral de su trio protagónico (encabezado por una extraordinaria Dakota Fanning), un criminal notable y la deslumbrante producción y rigurosa reconstrucción de época de siempre.
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Abstract:
The second season of this Victorian Gothic crime scene set in late 19th century New York looks less daring and original than the first, but exhibits a perhaps greater harshness and darkness, the acting solvency of its leading trio (led by an extraordinary Dakota Fanning), a notable criminal and the dazzling production and rigorous re-enactment of the same old days.
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Reseña:
Contiene referencias (no spoiler) a la temporada 1 en el segundo párrafo.
Esta vez el trío protagónico de la serie encara la investigación de las desapariciones y asesinatos de bebés, algunos de ellos hijos e hijas de personajes encumbrados.
En la temporada 2 podríamos decir que Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning) asume el protagonismo de la serie, al frente de su propia agencia de detectives. Colaboran con ella el periodista John Moore (Luke Evans), comprometido con la hija del magnate del periodismo Hearst y el alienista Laszlo Kreisler (Daniel Brühl), esa suerte de protopsicoanalista al frente de su propio instituto de patologías mentales.
No se puede negar que el asunto de la temporada 1 era de una audacia mucho mayor y que el caso abordado en la segunda es más convencional. Pero considero que la personalidad de quien comete los crímenes es abordada con más detenimiento (su responsable realiza una actuación notable) y la atmósfera general de la serie es aún más sombría, sórdida y triste, asomándose al género de horror gótico, con reminscencias de la victoriana serie Penny Dreadful. La reconstrucción de época y la producción continúan siendo admirables.
Sobresale la extraordinaria actuación de Dakota Fanning, cuya Sara si bien ha logrado independencia como profesional y luce un arrojo y un compromiso sin fisuras, sigue acarreando y transmitiendo una tristeza patente en cada uno de sus movimientos. Además, es de destacar la intensa química que logra en las escenas con Evans.
El personaje de Brühl (que da nombre a la serie, no lo olvidemos) queda un tanto relegado y por momentos parece casi un relleno, sin que esto desmerezca su lucimiento como actor.
En definitiva, otra intensa temporada, menos audaz y original que la anterior, pero de inusual dureza.
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Review:
Contains references (not spoiler) to season 1 in the second paragraph
This time the leading trio of the series faces the investigation of the disappearances and murders of babies, some of them the sons and daughters of high-ranking characters.
In season 2 we could say that Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning) takes center stage in the series, leading her own detective agency. Collaborating with her is the journalist John Moore (Luke Evans), committed to the daughter of the journalism mogul Hearst and the alienist Laszlo Kreisler (Daniel Brühl), that sort of proto-psychoanalyst at the head of his own institute of mental pathologies.
It cannot be denied that the issue of season 1 was of much greater audacity and that the case addressed in the second is more conventional. But I consider that the personality of the person who commits the crimes is approached more carefully (the person in charge performs a remarkable performance) and the general atmosphere of the series is even more somber, sordid and sad, peering into the Gothic horror genre, reminiscent of the Victorian Penny Dreadful series. The period reconstruction and production continue to be admirable.
The extraordinary performance of Dakota Fanning stands out, whose Sara, although she has achieved independence as a professional and shows a courage and a seamless commitment, continues to carry and transmit a patent sadness in each of her movements. In addition, the intense chemistry that she achieves in her scenes with Evans is noteworthy.
Brühl's character (who gives the series its name, let's not forget it) is somewhat relegated and at times seems almost a filler, without this detracting from his brilliance as an actor.
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First season are awesome!
But second season so bad....
The main character(Alienist) was almost cut out,
the creators went into an alternative history, starting distort history
added a lot of melodrame elements
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This review is based on Season 2
Season 1 was a very good showing on how to do a late 1800's/early 1900's crime series that isn't Peaky Blinders. The setting in New York and the entire cinematography is done really well in both seasons and the casting is in general very well done. Daniel Brühle is amazing as Laszlo Kreidler, Ted Levine is, like always, believable in being a hardnosed cop/ass, Dakota Flanning is a nice counterpart to Brühle and Luke Evans as John Moore who also does a good job Eventhough I don't beleive the man can act. The story was compelling and you never knew what to expect. Season 2 on the other hand is to me a complete failure.
Gone is The Alienist. Laszlo is no longer the main character of the show but we've shifted onto Sara Howard, now a private detective with a staff of woman at her disposal. That at the start makes no sense since the show is called The Alienist. A woman being a private detective in the late 1890's in itself is completely unrealistic. That, being teamed with Black Americans owning a bar and being Journalists is completely unbelievable but in this second season Sara Howard can do whatever she wants with no consequences. She is a nobody of name and status but can get in where she wants and if she's not trying to ruin John Moore's upcoming marriage she's busy figuring everything out on her own. Laszlo is only needed to give small inputs and hypnotize the mother of a kidnapped baby, so the Alienist is not an integral part of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness. The kidnapped baby takes us to the story or the crime and that is a fine storyline for 6 to 7 episodes. A woman is executed for having killed her own child, but there is no body to be found and she's wrongly executed. There's a baby killer on the loose we find out and Sara is on the case. She does everything by herself, is the only person in town with a gun but still needs John to follow here everywhere, all her actions have zero consequences and all while doing this Dakota Flanning has either her open mouthed slightly scared look or puffed up cheeks dead eyes look. She can't carry a show like this called The Alienist where stupid decision on stupid decision is piled up while the investigation goes on. They find stuff and don't check it out until it's to late or just in the nick of time, Policemen forget how to fight baddies, some of them can't shoot and the killer keeps getting away in the most moronic fashions. & or 7 times during the last to episodes I was yelling "Shoot her/him!". They have loaded guns pointed at people threatening to cut peoples throats and all they do is start crying while they talk. John Moore gets overpowered by a 100 pound young woman, they miss clues by actually seeing them and talk about them but not investigate and it's so predictable. Even when the show tries to take you for a spin so you don't know who's where or when, you see right through it. On top of all that this is a complete Female Empowerment project where everything is done by, to or for women. All these bad men with money do horrible things to poor women and Sara saves the day like only she cans and the mystery completely disappears at times. Laszlo gets a love interest but it's not important. Daniel Brühl carried the first season as The Alienist and John and Sara helped him out while becoming more and more important to the story and to Laszlo. They needed each other to solve the case in season 1 but Laszlo was the main focus because Daniel Brühle is capable of carrying a show with that character. Everything is different in season 2 and it ruins it. It's feminist propaganda in a way and off course you need strong female characters but it's called The Alienist..... It's about Laszlo Kreidler The Alienist not a female detective. I hate the stalemate ending, the subplot of a hospital doing bad stuff in the shadows is completely dropped and it felt like they ran out of time so a ton of stuff has been left on the editing floor. It's not the worst show I've seen but I hate that it's not The Alienist anymore and that it's completely flipped over and become a show that is unrealistic in its historical core and has become a female empowerment piece of trash. Go watch season 1 instead. At least it lived up to the name.
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Having enjoyed the first season I was looking forward to the second only to be left disappointed by it.
The show is supposedly about an Alinest, hence the name The Alienist, but in fact the lead character was a female private investigator who was totally unconvincing. Then they tried to re-write history, having African Americans integrated into society in the late 19th century, owning businesses, working as journalists etc. This I'm afraid makes it look as though they'er trying to deny the reality of what black Americans went through in that era.
Besides the confusion of why it was called "The Alienist" and the disrespect shown to American Black history the story was laboured, the acting poor and generally a very unsatisfying watch.
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Production Company:
- TNT
- Vanessa Productions
- Studio T
- Stuma Productions
- Anonymous Content
- Paramount Television Studios
- Paramount Television
Initial Release Date: Jan 21, 2018
Number of seasons: 2 Seasons
Rating: TV-MA
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 2 Nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
• 1 Win & 6 Nominations
Art Directors Guild
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
