What if The Knick was about detectives? That's the irresistible premise behind TNT's The Alienist, a chasing-serial-killers-when-the-idea-of-serial-killers-was-just-becoming-a-thing-to-worry-about drama set in handsomely rendered turn-of-the-century New York. The show, originally airing in 2018, became a surprise critical and ratings hit for the network. Now, two years later, we're finally getting a second season. We've got the trailer for The Alienist: Angel of Darkness below.

Based on the Angel of Darkness novel by Caleb Carr, who also wrote the first book the first season is based on, this season follows Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning) who has now opened up her own private detective agency. Returning are Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl), the titular "alienist" who brilliantly and eccentrically psychologically profiles his criminals, and John Moore (Luke Evans), who now works as a New York Times reporter. The dynamic trio are on the case of a missing baby, the daughter of the Spanish Consular. Along the way, they'll discover how deep the rot of corruption goes, how severe sexism affects everything, and what new killer just might be behind it all. The season will be showrun by Stuart Carolan (Love/Hate), directed by David Caffrey (Peaky Blinders), and executive produced by returning folks like Rosalie Swedlin, Alyson Feltes, Pavlina Hatoupis, Ben Rosenblatt, Eric Roth, and Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Full disclosure: I've not seen season one of The Alienist. But this trailer works so well for me, I just might have to. From the sumptuously dark cinematography and production design, to the intensity of dialogue and performances, to the morally dubious plotting of its killer narrative, to (especially) Fanning promising to destroy the shit out of everyone in her path, this show looks exactly up my alley. If you're looking for a new, period crime thriller, it might be up yours, too.

Check out the trailer for The Alienist: Angel of Darkness below. The show comes to TNT July 26. For more on the series, here's our exploration of whether or not this sequel series is even a good idea.