Although The Alienist was billed as a “limited series”, these days it turns out series are only limited if they’re unpopular. But The Alienist was a hit for TNT, and fans overwhelmingly wanted to see it return. Now it looks like they’ll get their wish has ordered a sequel series, The Angel of Darkness. Based on the sequel by author Caleb Carr, who wrote the novel The Alienist, the new series will reunite Alienist leads Daniel Bruhl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning.
Here’s the synopsis for Carr’s novel (which contains spoilers for The Alienist):
June 1897. A year has passed since Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a pioneer in forensic psychiatry, tracked down the brutal serial killer John Beecham with the help of a team of trusted companions and a revolutionary application of the principles of his discipline. Kreizler and his friends—high-living crime reporter John Schuyler Moore; indomitable, derringer-toting Sara Howard; the brilliant (and bickering) detective brothers Marcus and Lucius Isaacson; powerful and compassionate Cyrus Montrose; and Stevie Taggert, the boy Kreizler saved from a life of street crime—have returned to their former pursuits and tried to forget the horror of the Beecham case.
But when the distraught wife of a Spanish diplomat begs Sara’s aid, the team reunites to help find her kidnapped infant daughter. It is a case fraught with danger, since Spain and the United States are on the verge of war. Their investigation leads the team to a shocking suspect: a woman who appears to the world to be a heroic nurse and a loving mother, but who may in reality be a ruthless murderer of children.
Once again, Caleb Carr proves his brilliant ability to re-create the past, both high life and low. Fast-paced and chilling, The Angel of Darkness is a tour de force, a novel of modern evil in old New York.
It sounds like another twisted tale that should please fans of The Alienist, and TNT is clearly excited to have a hit show they can continue:
“We could not be prouder of The Alienist’s outstanding, award-worthy performance and all of the work the incredible actors and crew put in to bring that story and time period to life,” said Sarah Aubrey, executive vice president of original programming for TNT. “Our audience fell in love with these multi-dimensional, timeless characters and the journey of their struggles living in complicated times. With this new story in TNT’s Suspense Collection, we will further immerse viewers into their world as they are confronted with a new enemy.”
There’s no word yet on when The Angel of Darkness would premiere, but presumably with schedules permitting, TNT might get it on the air by next year, although they may wait until early 2020 since The Alienist found success in the first quarter of the year.
