Steve Carell tries to therapize a serial killer in FX’s The Patient trailer
From the co-creators of The Americans, FX's psychological thriller stars Carell and Domhnall Gleeson
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If you’re a fan of The Americans (and what are you doing with your life if you aren’t?), today is a promising day. Four years after the terrific show’s end, co-creators Joe Wiseberg and Joel Fields’ are returning to FX with a new drama, The Patient, whose trailer just dropped. If their past creative project is any indication, this one should also be a banger. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Written by the duo, The Patient follows morose therapist Alan Strauss (Steve Carell). Alan is going through grief and trauma after the recent death of his wife, Beth (Laura Niemi), and painful estrangement from his son, Ezra (Andrew Leeds). As seen in the trailer, he talks about probably needing therapy himself. But he is still fully focused on helping his patient, Sam Fortner (Domhnall Gleeson), who turns out to be a serial killer. In order to curb his homicidal urges, Sam decides to kidnap Alan so the good doctor can help cure him. Talk about a demanding client, right?
In order to survive and stop him from killing again, Alan has no choice but to unravel Sam’s disturbed mind. It proves to be a tough task because Sam refuses to engage in critical topics like his family and personal life. Also, as Alan says in the video above, “Successful therapy requires a safe environment, without anything like fear hanging over every session.” Fear seems like a given if you’re kidnapped by a serial killer though. Alan is fully isolated so he uses this opportunity to grapple with his own repressed issues by—and keep up with me here—excavating memories of his own therapist, Charlie (David Alan Grier).
The show also stars Linda Emond and Alex Rich. Wiseberg and Fields, along with Carell, Chris Long, Caroline Moore, and Victor Hsu are executive producers. The Patient is a limited series (or so they always lead us to believe), and will consist of 10 episodes. It premieres on FX on Hulu on August 30.
19 Comments
god, The Americans was so good. You don’t seem to see a lot of TV shows for actual adults these days; once Better Call Saul wraps up, it’s going to be a very parched landscape indeed.
I ended up watching Dark Winds after it played on the back half of the new Better Call Saul episode this week and I am interested enough to watch the rest. I’m now watching that and The Old Man and still trying to finish We Own this City. Seems like there’s always decent crime or limited true crime like The Staircase or Under the Banner of Heaven but I guess the only ongoing prestige drama series that I’d be looking forward to in a similar way would be Succession, whenever that comes back (and Barry and Atlanta as dramedies). Based on what I’ve read, Fargo and True Detective could be good to scratch that itch again, whenever those arrive. I will definitely give The Patient a try.
I’ll absolutely watch the Justified revival.
We’re in a golden age of TV, so I have to ask: What is your definition of an “actual adult” and who do you think all of today’s great shows are meant for?
One of the few shows, like Better Call Saul, where there’s no dip in quality. The Americans is an instant classic start to finish
I’m sorry but other than the casting/acting, IMHO BCS is on another level from The Americans in just about every way, shape and form.My biggest problem with The Americans is that it slow burned into nothing—if you go back and watch the entire series from beginning to end, there is a LOT of build up in each season, but ultimately nothing significant happens.BCS is far, far better at delivering the “slow burn” method of writing. Of course, The Americans writers are more constrained in that they cannot change anything about significant actual history, whereas the BB universe is almost entirely open to modification (up to the point of characters dying who show up later in BB).
“My biggest problem with The Americans is that it slow burned into nothing”
Oh my god, stop. This is just sad.
Didn’t even recognize Gleeson. Like he looks way younger here than normal. But yeah I’m in.
Goddamnit! If you want me to watch, FX, put it on your TV channel and not Hulu.
So…What About Bob by way of Dexter through the Tony/Melfi parts of The Sopranos.That sounds dumb as shit but I loved The Americans so I’m still in.
The Americans is one of my favorite shows ever, but this being about a serial killer is a huge strike against wanting to watch it. Like, seriously, enough with serial killers. They’re probably the most overrepresented demographic on TV.
“They’re probably the most overrepresented demographic on TV.”
Sure, behind police and doctors and lawyers and moms and dads and dysfunctional teens and low-level criminals and heads of organized crime and hitmen and teachers, yeah.
You had me at ” If you’re a fan of The Americans”. But man what a cast. Also, David Alan Grier is an american treasure.
Well, this looks promising, and I love both of the main actors.But – apropos of nothing – why can’t Domhall use his native accent (in this particular show)?Don’t know why that particular nit bothered me. /shrugs
Because Irish serial killers are romantic.
With a capital “R”. 😀
you had me at steve!
Ah yes, the Serious Beard. That’s how we know we’re dealing with Serious Foxcatcher Carell; not the regional manager of Dumble & Bumble.