Squalor and sleuthing are blended with sadistic verve.

Netflix's lavish new period crime drama is like an unholy marriage between Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock and David Fincher's Mindhunter, starring an outstanding Dakota Fanning.

Fanning is strikingly good as Sara, her face radiating an innocent glow as it lifts like a sunflower towards the Doctor.

And while it doesn't hit [Mindhunter's] heights, it's a fascinating and richly detailed drama deserving of its star power.

I found it hugely enjoyable, a quite unexpected treat, a beguiling amalgam of truthfully felt family drama and an exciting sci-fi survival adventure series.

The Alienist is not subtle in its messaging, and in this case, that appears to be needed to get through to Kreizler ... This episode has done a better job of exploring him in more depth than the haphazard hints dropped previously.

The actual characters here benefit from being embodied by good actors, though the roles are thin.

The fog and mystery are laid on pretty thick, but it is the ensemble performances by the three leads that raise the proceedings above your typical penny dreadful.

Episode two shakes off the unsavory visuals and moves the story and character relationships forward with less emphasis on the heaviness that hangs over the first hour, but by then, some viewers will have moved on.

If you can handle the graphic violence and the somber subject matter, this TNT series is a must-watch.

The Alienist quickly distinguishes itself with compelling characters, a rich world, and some eerie aesthetics.

With its precisely executed setting and unsettling mystery, [it] will appeal to true crime lovers, fans of the original novel and NYC history buffs, but its early episodes don't elevate it to must-see viewing for others in such a crowded environment.

The Alienist is much more successful as a period drama about unconventional people trying to navigate a society that insists on conventionality than it is as a serial killer thriller.

The richly sinister atmosphere is matched by deeply disturbing details that have a way of sparking in the gloom.

The Alienist wonderfully conveys the cruel contrasts between high society - oysters at Delmonico's - versus tubercular tenements, madhouses full of screams and nightmare brothels.