After two decades in development hell, an adaptation of author Caleb Carr's 1994 novel The Alienist finally made it to the screen in the form of an "event series" that aired on TNT earlier this year. A psychological thriller set at the turn of the 20th century, The Alienist starred Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning. The synopsis:
A series of haunting murders of boy prostitutes grips New York City. Newly appointed police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt calls upon criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and newspaper illustrator John Moore to conduct the investigation in secret. They are joined by Sara Howard, a headstrong secretary determined to become the city's first female police detective. Using the emerging disciplines of psychology and forensics, this band of social outsiders set out to apprehend one of New York City's first serial killers.
The series proved to be so successful for TNT that the network has now ordered a limited / event series based on Carr's 1997 sequel novel The Angel of Darkness. In this one,
Howard, now a private detective, comes to Dr. Kreizler looking for help in locating the kidnapped infant daughter of a visiting Spanish dignitary.
Sarah Aubrey, executive VP of original programming for TNT, had this to say about the series order:
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. 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."
The Angel of Darkness will be produced by Paramount Television and Turner's Studio T. Cary Joji Fukunaga, Eric Roth, and Anonymous Content's Steve Golin and Rosalie Swedlin will be executive producing.
I haven't watched The Alienist yet, but I'm interested in catching up on it when I get the chance – especially now that I know the characters will be back for another series.