The Alienist

Series Similar to The Alienist

If you enjoyed The Alienist, these series share similar themes, tone, and quality. Each recommendation is scored on genre overlap, tonal match, and critical acclaim.

1. The Sinner

   2017 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended99% match

   Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile.

   A blend of thrilling murder investigation and raw character drama, anthology series The Sinner follows the investigation of a chilling new homicide each season. Detective Harry Ambrose employs unusual tactics and a deep capacity for empathy to solve his cases … with a boundless dedication driven by his own dark past. Departing from the traditional "whodunnit," the series delves into the "why" -- exploring the buried traumas, psychological factors and philosophical reasons that might compel a seemingly "normal" person to commit unspeakable acts.

2. Cardinal

   2017 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended97% match

   Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile.

   Adapted from author Giles Blunt's award-winning "John Cardinal Mysteries" series, Cardinal is a six-episode dramatic thriller that follows Detective John Cardinal on a chilling hunt for a brutal killer in a small Northern Ontario town.Demoted for a hunch about a case that he wouldn't let go, Cardinal is brought back to the Homicide Unit when the body of missing 13-year-old Katie Pine is discovered, proving his instincts correct. Back on the case, his search for her murderer soon becomes an all-consuming race to stay ahead of a serial killer.Meanwhile, Cardinal must manage his own precarious family issues and secrets, and keep a watchful eye on his new partner, Detective Lise Delorme, who he believes may have her own secret agenda.

3. MINDHUNTER

   2017 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended95% match

   Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile, highly rated (8.4).

   MINDHUNTER is based on the 1996 book Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, by former special agent John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. For years, Douglas pursued some of the most notorious serial killers and rapists, developing profiling techniques to catch them. The book goes behind the scenes of some of his highest-profile cases, including the man who hunted prostitutes in Alaska, the Atlanta child murderer, and Seattle's Green River killer. To hone in his profiling methods Douglas interviewed and studied a skew of serial killers. Several book and TV characters have been based in part on him, including Jack Crawford in Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs, Will Graham on Hannibal and Jason Gideon on Criminal Minds.

4. Bodyguard

   2018 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended95% match

   Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile, highly rated (8.2).

   Set in and around the corridors of power, Bodyguard tells the fictional story of David Budd, a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch (RaSP) of London's Metropolitan Police Service.When he is assigned to protect the ambitious and powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague, whose politics stand for everything he despises, Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs. Responsible for her safety, is he actually her biggest threat?

5. Southland

   2009 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended95% match

   Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile, highly rated (8.1), also on TNT.

   From Emmy Award winners John Wells, Ann Biderman and Chris Chulack comes a raw and authentic look at the police unit in Los Angeles. From the beaches of Malibu to the streets of East LA, Southland is a fast moving drama that will take you inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families.John Cooper is a seasoned Los Angeles cop, assigned to train young rookie Ben Sherman. Cooper's honest, no nonsense approach to the job leaves Sherman questioning whether or not he has what it takes to become a police officer.

6. Mr. Mercedes

   2017 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended94% match

   Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile, highly rated (8).

   A demented serial killer taunts a retired police detective with a series of lurid letters and emails, forcing the ex-cop to undertake a private, and potentially felonious, crusade to bring the killer to justice before he can strike again. Based on the bestselling novel by Stephen King.

7. The Fixer

   2015 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended94% match

   Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile, hidden gem.

   Ellie Molaro is an investigator with the NTSB - the US federal body which determines the causes of major accidents. She becomes suspicious of the "official answers" to an oil rig disaster, spearheads a private investigation with a secret tipster named Carter.Carter claims that a conspiracy of "Fixers" are behind some of the worst global disasters, all rigged to manipulate the stock market, and reap billions for a select few.Now, their largest operation in decades is an impending, catastrophic event targeting Washington, D.C. and the only way they can succeed is if Ellie and Carter are among the casualties.

8. Legends

   2014 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended94% match

   Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile, also on TNT.

   Sean Bean stars in Legends, a suspense-filled drama based on the award-winning book by master spy novelist Robert Littell. Bean plays Martin Odum, an undercover agent working for the FBI's Deep Cover Operations (DCO) division. Martin has the uncanny ability to transform himself into a completely different person for each job. But he begins to question his own identity when a mysterious stranger suggests that Martin isn't the man he believes himself to be.

9. The Widower

   2014 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended94% match

   Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile, hidden gem.

   The Widower is a three-part drama from ITV Studios based on the crimes of convicted murderer, Malcolm Webster, played by Reece Shearsmith (Psychoville, The League of Gentlemen, A Field in England).The Widower tells how, over a 13 year period Malcolm Webster set about poisoning and murdering his first wife, attempting to do the same to his second wife and moving on to a further scheme to deceive his third fiancée.

10. Midwinter of the Spirit

    2015 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · ended94% match

    Recommended for similar Crime / Thriller profile, hidden gem.

    Merrily Watkins, a single mother who is not your average country vicar. Her newly acquired training in the works of exorcisms has pulled her to the dark side of the pulpit. She has become one of the very few women priests who are working as exorcists - a job which is mistrusted by the modern church and rarely ever talked about. Merrily is joined by Rev Huw Owen, a deliverance ministry tutor and Merrily's mentor. Her advanced and excessive knowledge of the paranormal underworld brings her to the notice of the local police who need her help. The force need her advice on the investigation of a grisly murder. However Merrily is still going through the motions of losing her late unfaithful husband, Sean, in a car crash. She seeks shelter in her job despite having a 16-year-old daughter, Jane. After the discovery of a gruesome murder, Merrily becomes convinced that Satanists are operating in the city.