The Alienist opens when a series of haunting, gruesome murders of boy prostitutes grips New York City. Newly appointed police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt (Geraghty) calls upon criminal psychologist (aka alienist) Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Brühl) and newspaper illustrator John Moore (Evans) to conduct the investigation in secret. They are joined by Sara Howard (Fanning), a headstrong secretary determined to become the city's first female police detective. Using the emerging disciplines of psychology and early forensic investigation techniques, this band of social outsiders set out to find and apprehend one of New York City's first serial killers.
I'm writing this having only seen 5 episodes of the second season but so far the Alienist himself has had little part to play. Instead Fanning's character Sara Howard has taken to the front and, while she does well and the show is still entertaining, it brings me to the question of why is the show even called "The Alienist" anymore? I'm not mad, it's still a good show after all.