The Patient trailer: Steve Carell is held captive by a serial killer in FX series

Everyone loves a good serial killer story, even Michael Scott. FX has released the trailer for The Patient, a new psychological thriller series starring Steve Carell and Domhnall Gleeson. We’re seen Carell take on dramatic roles before, but this one looks particularly dark.

Steve Carell plays Alan Strauss in The Patient, a therapist who finds himself being held prisoner by Sam Fortner (Gleeson), a troubled young man who reveals himself to be a serial killer. Sam has an unusual request for Alan: help him to curb his homicidal urges. While attempting to help Sam, Alan grapples with his own demons and trauma, all while fighting desperately to stop Sam’s compulsions before he becomes a target himself. The series was created by Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, who worked together on The Americans.

The official synopsis for The Patient:

“The Patient” is a psychological thriller from the minds of Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg (“The Americans”) about a therapist, “Alan Strauss” (Steve Carell), who’s held prisoner by a patient, “Sam Fortner” (Domhnall Gleeson), who reveals himself to be a serial killer. Sam has an unusual therapeutic demand for Alan: curb his homicidal urges. In order to survive, Alan must unwind Sam’s disturbed mind and stop him from killing again… but Sam refuses to address critical topics, like his mother “Candace” (Linda Emond). Alone in captivity, Alan excavates his own past through memories of his old therapist, “Charlie” (David Alan Grier), and grapples with waves of his own repressed troubles – the recent death of his wife, “Beth” (Laura Niemi), and the painful estrangement from his religious son, “Ezra” (Andrew Leeds). Over the course of his imprisonment, Alan uncovers not only how deep Sam’s compulsion runs, but also how much work he has to do to repair the rift in his own family. With time running out, Alan fights desperately to stop Sam before Alan becomes complicit in Sam’s murders, or worse – becomes a target himself.

Steve Carell can currently be heard voicing Gru in Minions: The Rise of Gru, the latest installment of the extremely popular Despicable Me franchise. As for Domhnall Gleeson, he will next be seen starring alongside Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux in The White House Plumbers, an HBO limited series that tells the true story of how Watergate masterminds E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy accidentally toppled the Presidency they were zealously trying to protect. The Patient will debut on FX on Hulu (and on Disney+ in Canada) on August 30th. What did you think of The Patient trailer?