#SmallScreenScenes #WhomYouKnow @TheAlienistTNT @TNT @Turner @ParamountTV @anoncontent #Recommended TNT Launches New Psychological Thriller The Alienist The Series is a Co-Production of Paramount Television and Turner's Studio
Holy days of obligation just became a lot less holy...dark and evocative of the mystery of Old New York, a place we would have liked to have lived minus the dirt and grime, The Alienist Season One in its ten intriguing episodes on TNT culminates in a finale this coming Monday that you cant't miss. Previously in this column, The Knick by HBO earned high accolades and this drama/thriller was quite similar. The Scorsese flick Gangs of New York we'd also put in this genre.
Murder is at the center and in the late 19th century setting, few tools were available to police to solve the crime. Out of the box thinking was most essential. Fingerprints and handwriting start to make a debut as clues and everyone that also loves Homeland will start to wonder how Carrie and Saul would have done it over 100 years ago. Terrorism is nothing new, sadly and neither are the challenges of mental health. For all advocates of Ralph Kramden and his fabulous personality (The Honeymooners!), you will recognize the Bellevue that he constantly references for Norton, before Norton's time.
The colors chosen are perfection and the team that did the setting is spot-on for mood and historical significance. We loved the furniture and the fashion of the era, and even more applaud the recognition of key historical figures like Teddy Roosevelt (yes he was a Police Commissioner before he was U.S. President-and we believe it was his idea to have the one commissioner instead of a board) and the phenomenally brilliant J. P. Morgan. We would have liked to have seen Mark Twain, but maybe next season.
In terms of acting, the casting was solid. The best by far was Dakota Fanning, fabulous in her pinstripes, who has been winning us over since Uptown Girls where she co-starred with the late Brittany Murphy, also hugely talented. Her delivery, poise and old school "anything boys can do, girls can do too" attitude will have wide appeal. The character she plays was the me too movement 120 years ago.
The darkness of the crimes and the complete brutality is not for the feint of heart. If you don't like blood and guts, feel free to turn your head at key moments. But the center of this theme is the mental state and what motivates one to be so wretched, and emotional intelligence and interpreting people is what the viewer should heed, beyond the squalor of some scenes. Pain and pleasure, mutilations, rampant corruption and strong writing are hallmarks of The Alienist. The plot crescendo is appropriate, however, we would have liked to have seen more fireworks in the first nine episodes.
High five for whoever put Newton, Massachusetts in this, home of Peachy for three and a half years on campus...now go one step further and put the best college in the world in! It has existed since 1863 but then, it was in Downtown Boston, not Chestnut Hill.
If it was made available to us earlier, it would have earned this recommendation much earlier in the season. Yes, there should be a season 2.
Fee-fi-fo-fum get started on the first nine episodes NOW, and watch the finale on Monday.
The Alienist is Recommended by Whom You Know.
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An unflinching psychological thriller amidst the underbelly of New York City’s “Gilded Age,” TNT’s The Alienist follows Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl, Rush), a brilliant and obsessive “Alienist” in the controversial new field of treating mental pathologies, who holds the key to hunting down a never-before-seen ritualistic killer murdering young boys. Based on the award-winning, fan-favorite novel by Caleb Carr, with standout performances from Luke Evans (The Girl on the Train) and Dakota Fanning (American Pastoral), The Alienist is a gripping, turn-of-the-century murder mystery like none other: the story of the emergence of the world’s most powerful city that will stop at nothing to bury its darkest secrets. The Alienist is slated to premiere on Monday, Jan. 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT across TNT platforms.
In The Alienist, Luke Evans plays newspaper illustrator John Moore and Dakota Fanning plays Sara Howard, an ambitious secretary determined to become the city's first female police detective. The series also stars Brian Geraghty(The Hurt Locker) as police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, Douglas Smith (Miss Sloane) and Matthew Shear(Mistress America) as Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, twin brothers who help unravel the disturbing mystery; Matt Lintz(Pixels) as Stevie, a tough, young boy employed by Dr. Kreizler as a driver and errand boy; Robert Ray Wisdom (The Wire) as Cyrus, Kreizler's valet, a man with a dark past who has been reformed by Kreizler; and Q'orianka Kilcher (The New World) as Mary, Kreizler's mute maid with whom he shares a special unspoken connection.
Shot in Budapest, Hungary, The Alienist is a co-production of Paramount Television and Turner's Studio T. BAFTA-nominee Jakob Verbruggen (Black Mirror) serves as director and executive producer along with Academy Award® winner Eric Roth (Forrest Gump), Academy Award® nominees Hossein Amini (Drive) and E. Max Frye (Foxcatcher), Anonymous Content's Steve Golin and Rosalie Swedlin, along with Chris Symes and Emmy® winner Cary Fukunaga (True Detective). Serving as co-executive producers on the series are Marshall Persinger (Rectify) and Jamie Payne (The Driver).
About Paramount Television
Paramount Television develops and finances a wide range of creative television programming across all media platforms. Its robust slate of programming with top distributors includes the five-time Emmy®-winning live musical event Grease: Live (FOX), which holds the record-breaking telecast title with more than 17 million viewers worldwide and is ranked as the #1 most social live musical event ever; the Emmy®-nominated Nickelodeon hit School of Rock'; Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (Amazon); 13 Reasons Why (Netflix); Maniac (Netflix); Shooter (USA); Berlin Station (EPIX); The Alienist (TNT); Galaxy Quest (Amazon) and The Warriors (Hulu). Paramount Digital Entertainment (PDE) has developed series such as Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ (NBCUniversal's Seeso), Hotwives of Orlando and Hotwives of Las Vegas (HULU), Resident Advisors (HULU), Beef (Fullscreen) and the one-hour special Crash Test (Comedy Central and Vimeo). Paramount Television and Paramount Digital Entertainment are part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a subsidiary of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a global content company with premier television, film and digital entertainment brands.
About Anonymous Content
Founded in 1999 by CEO Steve Golin, Anonymous Content is a leading management and Film, TV and Commercial production company. Anonymous Content manages the careers of many of the world's most renowned and innovative directors, writers, actors and comedians, working closely with them to achieve their goals by both creating and finding opportunities for them, whether in feature films, television, commercials, music videos or brand integrated content. Anonymous Content's clients have been recognized with Academy Awards®, Emmys®, Golden Globes®, Tony Awards®, Pulitzer Prizes® and other prestigious awards. The company's award-winning Film & TV division boasts many commercially successful and critically acclaimed works, including Babel, Winter's Bone, Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 50 First Dates, Collateral Beauty, The Revenant and the Best Picture Academy Award-winning Spotlight. The company's TV slate includes True Detective (HBO), The Knick (Cinemax), Mr. Robot (USA Network), Schitt's Creek (POP), 13 Reasons Why (Netflix) and Berlin Station (EPIX), as well as upcoming The Alienist (TNT) and Maniac (Netflix). Through its commercial work, Anonymous Content is also the driving creative force behind countless top brands, including Prada, Nike and Coke. In 2016, Anonymous Content received a substantial minority investment from Emerson Collective, the organization founded and run by Laurene Powell Jobs, to allow the firm to expand its production offerings in socially relevant content aimed at inspiring change.
Website: www.anonymouscontent.com
About TNT
TNT is basic cable's #1 network in primetime with young adults and is home to one of cable's most popular slates of original series, including Animal Kingdom, Claws, Good Behavior, The Last Ship, Major Crimes, The Librarians, the upcoming The Alienist, One Day She’ll Darken and more. TNT's premium non-fiction series include the upcoming Who Run the World? from Refinery29 and executive producers Sarah Jessica Parker & Morgan Spurlock and Michael Moore Live from the Apocalypse. TNT also presents popular shows such as Arrow, Supernatural, Bones and Castle; primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards® and the iHeartRadio Music Awards; and championship sports coverage, including the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
Website: www.tntdrama.com
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Watch an All-New Trailer For The Series Now:
Turner, a Time Warner company, is a global entertainment, sports and news company that creates premium content and delivers exceptional experiences to fans whenever and wherever they consume content. These efforts are fueled by data-driven insights and industry-leading technology. Turner owns and operates some of the most valuable brands in the world, including Adult Swim, Bleacher Report, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, ELEAGUE, FilmStruck, Great Big Story, HLN, iStreamPlanet, Super Deluxe, TBS, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), TNT, truTV and Turner Sports.
