Luke Evans to star in TNT's The Alienist

The Alienisht.

So TNT is trying to get into the game of creating good TV shows? Daniel Bruhl and Luke Evans is a big grab for them, the script must be pretty good.

Though having Luke Evans on a basic cable show is disappointing, a premium cable or Netflix show would probably get him naked....

This project has been in development hell for so long, at one point Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson were going to star in the film version (this was right around their Merchant Ivory period.)

I like you, R1.

I was recently watching that Dracula movie he did last year and it was pretty good. He's kinda dreamy.

[quote] He's kinda dreamy.

I think he is damn sexy.

I still can't believe we don't have a dick pic of Luke. He would get drunk and do cam shows. How does one not exist?!

I misread that as "Linda Evans" and got quite excited.

I read the novel when it came out. I remember liking the dark mood.

****SPOILER***** I also remember a huge cock.

[quote] ****SPOILER***** I also remember a huge cock.

Then it can't be Luke's role, no?

Per Deadline the Bruhl role was once attached to Paul Newman

It's been in development that long.

It's been in development so long because they wanted to make a theatrical release rather than TV. The story doesn't lend itself to a 2 hour narrative.

You can blame what's his name for that. You know. The big jerk.

Shcott Wudin.

TNT is trying to follow in the footsteps of USA and get their own Mr. Robot to attract upscale audiences. In an era of audience erosion, this is how you get advertisers: by reaching a discerning high-income demographic that follows buzzy, Emmy-bait programming.

Just what we need, another steampunk detective series!

Luke is lovely though and deserves all the monies. Plus everybody else from the Hobbit movies has some kind of series these days.

Mr Robot is a ratings winner? News to Variety

No one said Mr. Robot was a hit. But it's a buzzy, award-winning show that attracts the right upscale audience and attracts A-list talent who would have never worked with USA before.

Christian Bale is A-list talent?

Sorry, I mean Christian Slater.

A better analogy would be Westworld, The Knick and Penny Dreadful, which both feature marquee names from film and mix steampunk with gore with the goal of attracting male 18-49 eyeballs.

As far as high-income goes, they're watching Modern Family and Designated Survivor.

Everyone wants to be HBO, but they're a premium channel so they play by different rules. TNT is similar to USA in that they're basic cable channels known for rather bland, middle-of-the-road programming, but they're trying to change that. TBS is doing that now with its "edgy" comedy lineup.

No one wants to be HBO. HBO is a trainwreck. Everyone wants to be Netflix now.

In this cable landscape, networks would kill to be a "trainwreck" like HBO. It still attracts huge names and has tons of money.

Ten years ago, HBO was the only place that could attract marquee names. Now they go everywhere. David O Russell, Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore are going to Amazon.

And yes, HBO is a trainwreck. They kept throwing money at "names" who delivered them series that bombed (Vinyl), derailed after one season (True Detective), were shuttered mid-production (David Fincher's music video series) or killed in development (Steve McQueen's series).

I'm sure one reason the novel never made it to the screen is that the narrative partly hinges on the child prostitution that was rampant in certain parts of NYC at the time - both sexes. You can't skirt around it without making wholesale changes to the plot, so I wonder how TNT will handle it. If one isn't careful, it could play into the whole gay = pedophile mentality.

THE KNICK got there first with this kind of material.

The Alienist (book) came out way before The Knick, and Copper another similar narrative. It's a great book, I read it years ago. I hope they do it justice.

Daniel Brühl's sex appeal is very underrated.

Not by me, R27.

DL Fave Dakota Fanning in TNT's The Alienist

Can't wait. Was "steampunk" even a thing in 1994, when The Alienist was released as a novel?

Luke Evans to star in TNT's The Analist. Fixd it for OP

No R30 it was just called historical fiction back then.

Thank you, R32. That's one thing I hate about the internet era, everything having to have some hopefully cutesy, but actually stupid, new name.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

I loved the book, which is (duh) historical fiction rather than steampunk, but I don't think it'll adapt well to the screen.

The characters basically invent the method of profiling during the book, a method which was all the rage in the 90s and doesn't get much press now. The book was great fun with the characters having constant clever insights and lots of solid writing about the NYC of the late 19th century, and IMHO it's one of those things that can't be condensed too much. If they tried to make it into a feature film they'd strip away thd slow build and most of the stuff that made the book interesting, and reveal a none too solid core.

Brian Geraghty replacing Sean Astin as Teddy Roosevelt

I agree R27, Daniel is such a cutie and such a good actor.

Evans is obviously walking that tight rope between being in and out in order to get roles in Hollywood. I'm pretty sure many people are unaware he's gay. Unlike some other out gay actors, Luke is trying for real mainstream roles so he probably figures it's a detriment to be completely out so he plays it coy and talks about privacy.

I'll have to catch The Alienist when it comes out. I remember liking the book.

The trailer is here!

They had Luke at "boy prostitutes."

Can't wait!!

I will finally get to see Luke Evans in something. He looks a little like Blake Shelton, so I'm not expecting much. Plus he's going to be attracted to the woman instead of the boy-whores.

Also, Cary Fuckinagua is the guy who put up that awful mess with McConaughey and Harrelson. Bleah.

I think I'll re-read the book, this time imagining the actors in the main roles. Looks quite good!!!

I thought the book was entertaining, plot-wise, despite the lackluster prose

Good trailer. Very cinematic. I'm looking forward to this as the book was entertaining. Looks like they're taking liberties with the character of Sara because she's a very independent feminist. There should be no romance with her here.

Maybe this has been mentioned already but the author of the book, Caleb Carr is the son of Lucien Carr who infamously killed a man who he said 'homosexually stalked him' back in 1944. The man he killed was apparently his scoutmaster who was stalking/grooming him from when he was a child. He got 20 years for the crime but only served 2. Lucien Carr hung around with Alan Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac & William Burroughs and had a particular close friendship with Kerouac. But Caleb Carr the author , though seems to always make a point of insisting his father & Kerouac were heterosexual & to disparage Ginsberg as a jealous gay man. Therefore he always disputed the premise of the movie based on his father "Kill Your Darlings"

I'm so excited about this show.

It premieres on January 22, and I just can't wait to see Luke Evans.

Daniel Bruhl, not so much. He's fugly.

This does look good and I can't believe I just now found out about it. Love, [italic]love[/italic] New York at the turn of the century so I hope this fills the void left behind by The Knick. Don't fuck it up, showrunners!

[quote] Don't fuck it up, showrunners!

I have a feeling they will fuck it up.

In fact, the show is on its second showrunner already, which is why the release date was delayed from Fall 2017 to January 2018.

The previews look good

I love me some Luke Evans

The three leads looking pretty basic at the premiere.

The Hollywood Reporter says lower your expectations, and it is a good show.

[quote]One way the long page-to-screen lag may benefit The Alienist is in lowering expectations. Like the book, the TNT adaptation is best approached as nicely polished pulp with a historical backdrop adding substance, rather than as anything intending to rewrite the rules of the genre. It's evocative, handsome and just a little disturbing, without the pressure to blow anybody away emotionally.

I agree with Tom and Lorenzo r51 that Luke Evans can be a bit of a fashionista so I am surprised he wanted to look like a banker at his premiere.

Luke never looks bad

watching it now. georgous sets and look....old nyc.

but the guy who plays the alienist is very weak.

odd how they cast these things...he is wooden.

luke is marvy, and hot.

I'm going to give Bruhl a few chances, so far he's kind of stiff but he's been very good in other things. Maybe he'll loosen up as the story goes on, but he is playing kind of an uptight guy.

Bruhl has zero appeal in this one....

who cast this show???

luke is the best part of it.

he acts circles around the alienist.

C+ score for the first episode from the AV Club so that's not a good start.

Bruhl is a huge star in Germany. But he's been directed by Verbruggen to seem pretty unassuming. Evans is the more "emotional" character.

Boy-whore and newsie urchins galore! Off to a good start.

"The Knick" Meets "Penny Dreadful."

R61 I'm about to watch it now but damn that sounds wonderful if true! I was obsessed with both of those shows!

Bruhl was great in "Rush"

Bad camera work, and both Bruhl and Fanning have zero charisma and dull line readings. I've seen Fanning do much better work (if the Effie Gray movie, for example). I agree Luke Evans is the most interesting thing about it.

Yeah, I've seen it now and it doesn't excite me at all. Totally unimaginative camerawork, bad sound mixing, weird line deliveries, and the sets are nothing to write home about either. Bruhl is competent enough but Evans is just cringe. And that police commissioner. Oy vey. Did they just go with the first take or what? Awful. And what the hell kind of an accent [italic]was[/italic] that?!

Fanning and the two cute Jewish brothers are the only ones who intrigue me. I'll force myself to watch a couple more episodes.

Marcus (I think), the bearded Jewish inspector sounds too contemporary. I hate how they skewed everyone younger, with the exception of Luke, who is supposed to be around the same age as Dakota.

Cute cast, great old timey urban CGI, pacing's a bit slow, and I already know who the killer is, so, meh.

Also, not interested in weeks of stories about little boys being chopped up.

Bye-ee!

The brothers are delicious. I hope we see nudity from them.

Douglas Smith, who plays one of the Jew brothers, has the most delightful curls.

^ Did Luke Evans get the chance to run his fingers through those curls?

I shat on this show last week but absolutely [italic]loved[/italic] the second episode. Seems like just about every aspect of it has improved from the previous week. The camerawork in the whorehouse alone was exquisite; I felt like I was seasick on a debauched pleasure cruise, watching that.

The homo stuff, the nympho girl who can't stop masturbating, Dakota kicking ass, the clash between science and religion, the fucking socialist rally... all that shit is giving me LIFE! It combines one of my favourite historical periods and places ever (NYC at the turn of the century) with all the provocative stuff I wanted The Knick to have as well. And I'm totally sold on that murder mystery; I feel uneasy just thinking about it.

Please consider supporting this gay-ass production by watching it.

Also, I loved this line by the alienist:

[quote]Being effete and being inclined toward a contrary sexual instinct are two different things.

Truer words were never spoken. However, the statement is a bit... too advanced for that particular era, no?

If you want to see another alienist in action - psychobabble and all - definitely check out Patti LuPone in Penny Dreadful.

Are there any vampires in the show?

Fans of this show, like me, are also liking Tom Tykwer's series BABYLON BERLIN, streaming on Netflix. Deviancy, political upheval, murder, and sleaze in the late Weimar Republic.

R74 Ooh, I love that period as well. Thanks for the recommendation!

But is there gay, R74?

Ooh Tom Tykwer and Weimar Republic?!! Take my money! Thanks r74.

I hate the way Fanning is playing Sara- she was quite passionate about her feminist ideals, had a great sense of humor, and was quite empathetic.

watching episode 3

im mesmerized by the odd look and sound of la alienist, Bruhl....his accent is indeed alien, and is he fresh from a facelift? his swollen cheeks and lack of any bags under his eyes lead me to think yes. in all, what a goofy portrayal he is giving..

the 3 main actors seem to be in an opiate trance...

perhaps the next season will be recast when they do the sequel.. and have a different director. nice cinematography and constumes tho.

Bruhl's voice is like an incongruous whisper, maybe someone else dubbed it later, he is german.

He looks constipated to me.

I like Bruhl, his portrayal of the Alienist is somewhat eccentric but his character is thinking was outside the box and too advanced for his age. So I expect people of his day regarding him as a genius bordering on lunacy.

I think I'm put off that this is being shown on TNT. This should have been shown on HBO, Netflix or Amazon, free of commercials.

and free of censorship, bring on the grisly..

Luke only one that has a bit of life to him.

maybe its so slow cause theyr stretching it out into a long series. the book was not slow, tho

Anyone good on chatterbate tonite?

how many episodes are in this thing, before we find out the killer....

DL Fave Sean Young appears in Ep 3.

Watched the first two episodes - it's just OK. The first episode was rushed, somewhat confusing, and too focused on "atmosphere." Once the director calmed down a little in Episode 2, it got better, but the big issue is that the script is mediocre. Bruhl is not ideally cast as Kreizler - somehow the character needs a little sense of humor even if it's very subtle. Evans is better, but he overacts in some scenes. Fanning isn't as bad as I feared but she's too baby-faced to truly be effective.

R78 Brühl is known for those cheeks so it's not a facelift. I'm really envious of his full beard.

I'm totally fine with the serial murderer possessing the power of flight but the police commissioner getting involved in terrain work? Now that's just a bridge too far for me.

Shoutout to Martin McCreadie as Sergeant Doyle, the corrupt police captain's stooge. I would very much like to lick every square inch of his delicious face and body.

Additional shoutout to Matthew Van Oss, the jewiest-looking person I have ever seen. I would do unspeakable things to that glorious nose of his. [italic]Sexual[/italic] things.

Why wasn't Luke cast in the leading role? He has more star power than the leading actor and he's taken a supporting role.

I agree about Fanning. She is not attractive enough for the female reporter. Evan Rachel Wood would have been good in that role.

Episode three is better than 1 & 2. Dakota was en pointe in this one and the sets ghoulish & ornate as they should be. Luke is really good. Bhrul is still not a presence in the film/show.

"I agree about Fanning. She is not attractive enough for the female reporter. Evan Rachel Wood would have been good in that role."

She's supposed to be a secretary, not a model. Evan is at least a better actress than Dakota, though.

I think Bruhl is much better than Evans.

I also don't understand why that character should be attractive. Dakota's sassy and that's good enough for me.

Sassy? She seem totally inert to me.

Sassy?? She's barely conscious.

R92 Agreed. Brühl might be low-key but at least he's consistent, while some of Evans' delivery and reactions just make me wince. He's obviously playing a role that's beyond his range so there's a disconnect between the character he's inhabiting in his mind and what comes through in his acting. It's like that TV motion smoothing setting being turned on; something's ever so slightly [italic]off[/italic] with his performance.

R94 "Restrained sassy" is a thing. She's obviously not going to run her mouth in that kind of environment and in that time period, but her whole presence is still bursting at the seams with possibilities. It's the most glorious thing in the world to observe, at least to my eyes.

R95 Calm down. It's just a TV show.

I look in on these threads to see if should check out this show. It seems the answer is no lol.

[quote]Calm down. It's just [bold]truly godawful costume drama[/bold].

Fixed yer typo, hon.

Evans is fairly exceptional among Brit leading actors of his age who hasn't mastered a convincing American accent.

I think Luke's American accent is fine. Better than a lot of Brit actors I've heard.

This show revealed a lot about Bruhl's character. He apparently likes servants who have been murderers, his right arm is stunted and he asks strange questions of his friends.

bruhl is ruining the show for me...

Every episode just keeps getting better in every regard. Even Luke's acting has improved markedly. And those gorgeous greens in the park, oh my! Felt like I was watching CMBYN again.

Kept wondering when Joe Altin would appear as he was in the credits since the first episode, and then he's finally unmasked as the killer. That shot of him greasing up his forearms was the sexiest thing ever. Though I suppose you need to be into (deep) fisting to appreciate it fully.

The last time I saw Altin was in the second season of Chewing Gum and he was looking pretty ratchet and low-energy. I'm happy he's found a job in the US. Look at how handsome he is!

I love how the show doesn't include much nudity, yet feels so deviant at the same time because of the themes being explored. But we definitely need to see an ssm kiss before the end of the season.

Love how the AV Club praises it for finding its footing and then slaps a B grade on it.

[quote]Sean Young’s Mrs. Van Bergen looking at her dog as if for advice is the most sublime moment so far of this show, or possibly any show.

I couldn't for the life of me place that actress and it turns out, it's actually [italic]the[/italic] Sean Young! She's playing the part perfectly.

[quote]You know what else Josef Altin was in? [italic]Harlots.[/italic]

Did anyone watch that show?

Like a painting.

Click to zoom in on Dakota's costume; it really is quite something.

"Why wasn't Luke cast in the leading role?"

Moore IS the leading role, the protagonist, the narrator of the book, the man of action, the entry character that the audience identifies with. Kreizler is officially running the team and does most of the thinking, but he's creepy and mysterious and in the book, is always seen through someone else's eyes.

Nice to see Sean Young again

It's obvious that Luke is the most likable and sympathetic character.

I hadn't read the book in a while but I don't remember Kreizler as being that weird. And he is weird, almost creepy. It makes you wonder if he's the killer but, nah...not with that useless arm.

Lovely episode. Dakota's kicking some serious ass in that mouth-watering Dracula outfit. Speaking of mouth-watering stuff, did you see Brühl's ass when he pulled the cover off the blackboard at the beginning of the episode? I would seriously consider breaking my jaw five different ways eating that ass. Altin's freakout when his mother, Sean Young, tried to kiss him on the mouth (probably for the hundredth time) was a delight.

I love watching past American presidents going about their jobs pre-inauguration (was obsessed with the John Adams series!), but this Roosevelt just isn't doing it for me. Weak actor, most likely.

This paragraph from the AV Club's review nails why I like this show so much:

[quote]But I actually enjoy this show more the weirder it feels. There are so many tight shots in this episode—even at the expense of blocking or scene flow, like a last-second improvisation by the camera team because only Luke Evans knew what to do with his hands—that it makes the entire episode feel strangely unreal, as if our major characters are moving from place to place in a talking-head documentary of their own making. And why not? It doesn’t have quite the spark it needs to be fascinating on the surface; it might as well get weirder and weirder underneath. Let it be increasingly disconnected from what we expect of a narrative. Let this entire show be the Sean Young Looking at a Dog for Legal Advice that I know it can be. Look at your bird again.

Also, when will we get to see Roosevelt introduce bicycles into the police force? Wouldn't that be surreal to see; to just introduce that historical element apropos of nothing? Love this comment under the article as well:

[quote]Stephen Louis Grush’s appearance as Jesse Pomeroy was the first time since this series began where the actor didn’t feel acutely aware that he was in a period piece.

I was actually thinking to myself: "What makes this actor [italic]feel[/italic] so different from the rest?" And then it hit me; it actually feels like he's of that time.

The sound design for that chain thingy was blood-curdling.

I'm scouring Tumblr for that Dakota costume like my life depended on it, but no luck so far.

Some serious hand acting from Luke Evans on display here.

Even better, I managed to find a video of Dakota fingering through those glorious costumes and talking about her character's costume design. Fun fact: both the costume designer and the associate costume designer are men.

Would it be weird of me to say I would very much like to wear one of her garments while making out with (and possibly breastfeeding) naked Joe Altin in a bath filled with milk? Because I definitely feel empowered to say that after watching this weird-ass show.

So much pretty.

The sets are getting better with each episode as well. I swear there's a new layer of muck on the streets every week. It'll be knee-high next season, I'm sure. They should make Dakota wade through actual crap on her way to work, to mirror her constantly having to deal with figurative crap once she gets there.

Wanted to like this show so much, but 4-5 episodes in, and it’s just not capturing my interest. Its plot moves so slowly while recycling scenes from other better shows and movies. It’s not scary or sexy enough, probably because it’s on TNT. And revealing the killer early just deflates any tension that was building.

But maybe the biggest problem is the casting. Bruhl and Fanning are good actors, but just don’t have the charisma to carry a multipart tv series. And there’s little-to-no onscreen chemistry between the three leads.

On the plus side, Evans is very good. He’s the only major player in this series that one is drawn to. Not surprisingly, he’s the only one projecting old fashioned star quality. And the show looks terrific. With very few exceptions, it’s believably NYC, and not a set in Europe.

[quote]Would it be weird of me

Oh yeah.

r115 Thanks, I take strange comfort from that confirmation.

Well, you're weird, so most comfort will be strange.

[quote]And revealing the killer early just deflates any tension that was building.

We don't know if he's the killer, he's just a suspect because the Roosevelt was warned to lay off the Elite. Kreizler said he didn't believe the killer is from the Privilege class.

The killer likes heights and must be a former mountain climber.

Also Altin's character likes older teenage boys, the kller likes children.

Exactly. Altin seems so petite and delicate so there's no way he'd be able to do all that climbing. Plus different orientations, as has been pointed out.

RIP Altin's character who did the best sudden freakouts on TV. The one black man and the one sodomite bit it this episode, which isn't the optimal outcome, but whatever. I've no clue what's going on with Brühl's short arm subplot but I'm intrigued.

If they don't manage to somehow tie the Jewish brother's romance into the main plot, I'll be pretty disappointed. Seems like an excuse to show straight sex for no reason whatsoever. And I know his family are Jewish immigrants and so feel alienated (get it?) from society but I'm still not interested in them in the slightest.

As for the acting, the reviewer at the AV Club nails it yet again.

[quote]For moments like the typewriter scene, it’s harder. There’s no way we’re meant to take this seriously as a charge to the sensual atmosphere, but it’s also almost brilliantly unfunny, which leaves it in that space beyond camp where oddness thrives. Luke Evans is gamely trying to turn these moments into a lighthearted battle of the sexes. Dakota Fanning (whose aggressive slouching initially seemed like a character struggling against her bonds but at this point just seems like Millenial Posture) treats every single one of their scenes as if they’re delivering a series of coded messages rather than human dialogue. The two approaches make their moments together almost hypnotic, even if it’s not the way anyone intended.

Everyone is doing their own thing and the result is almost comical. But also exactly why I keep returning to this show.

The sights and sounds of the countryside were spectacularly shot this week. However, director David Petrarca (any relation to Francesco?) really botched the background continuity in the veterans' hospital/asylum. That was pretty painful to watch. I don't like that Mary had to die to further the alienist's plot along, but whatever. It's not like the novel is some progressive stuff; it uses homosexuality as a shocking story device, after all.

Just found out today that Sean Astin was supposed to play Roosevelt but pulled out due to a scheduling conflict and the current actor stepped in at the last moment. Had I known that, I wouldn't have been so harsh on him in some of my previous posts.

Also, I love how these people (Dakota, mainly) pronounce "What" and "Why" as "Hwhat" and "Hwhy". Everyone should talk like that all the time.

I really love the Alienist.

Some reviewers and critics with screeners are saying tonight's episode is very, very good. I'm excited!

Though I feel a bit hoodwinked as I just learned this was filmed in Romania. Illusion shattered.

This show is GRIM. I was breathless by the end of the last episode. This reviewer mirrors my thoughts on Mary's death earlier in the thread:

[quote]Boy, Mary sure did die just to make a man sad, didn’t she? I will never understand how this plot point wasn’t reconsidered in the wake of... everything that’s happened culturally since 1994.

Also:

[quote]ASMR Grief Counselor Roosevelt is my least favorite one. Emboldened American Hero Out To Stop Corruption At All Costs By Making Announcements About It In Front of Old-School Cops in Bars Roosevelt is a close second.

Tee hee. That actor ain't never gonna live down this gig, is he?

Another shout out to Martin McCreadie, who featured a bit more in this episode. Can't get enough of this sexy man.

All the droogs want some of that McCreadie bod.

r124, it was BUDAPEST, Hungary, not Bucharest.

r128 Ah, thanks, I think Tom&Lorenzo misspoke on their podcast.

r128 Also, I was mainly referring to the nature shots in the previous episode, not the city shots. Was that filmed in Budapest as well?

Pretty sure outside of Buda:

As Dakota would say, "HwHat an anticlimactic ending." Hated the cat getting killed but loved Evans' face of relief as he saw that it was just another boy who got murdered, not his favourite. And what the fuck was with that Jewish breeder drama? That shit served exactly zero purpose.

Also, this exchange just about killed me:

[quote]Brühl: My daddy was mean to me sometimes when he tucked me into bed at night.

[quote]Dakota: My father shot himself in the face after a lifelong fight with depression, missed and horribly maimed his face, so he made me pull the trigger to finish the job.

Was this always supposed to be just one season?