The Best Show You Aren’t Watching: The Patient

Looking for a sharp, well-written, well-acted thriller to watch this weekend? Well, have I got a recommendation for you. In the era of too much TV, I suspect this gem of a psychological thriller – well, psychological drama – likely slipped past you (also, because FX opted not to air it on their broadcast wing but to have it siloed off to their FX on Hulu imprint, which meant it only aired on Hulu each week and lost out on some big promotional help in the move). So, what is The Patient?

Sam (the excellent Domhnall Gleeson), a serial killer with some severe mental health issues (aside from his penchant for killing, that is), abducts psychologist Dr. Alan Strauss (Steve Carell, the best I’ve ever seen him), chains him to the floor of his basement, and demands that Strauss become his therapist to help Sam stop killing people. Yeah, that’s one hell of a set-up, but you know what? It works so damn well. I can’t get too deep into just why that is but suffice to say there’s a lot more at work here than just two individuals talking in a basement (although those are some of the most compelling scenes of the series). Rather, the series – from Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, the duo behind the exquisite The Americans – delves into the nature of family, loss (Strauss is deep in mourning the loss of his beloved wife to cancer), trauma, the nature of violence, and how change may or may not be possible once someone is set down a particular path. And, since it’s important to many who commit to a television series these days: This is a limited series with a clear end – and it absolutely sticks the landing (although, would you expect any less from Fields and Weisberg after they did the same with The Americans).

In the half-hour installments (all, save the finale, clock in around the 30-minute mark, again helping the show’s binge-ability), we learn about Sam’s past, why he sees such atrocious acts of violence as the necessary next steps in his feelings of anger and betrayal. But we also learn about Strauss – his past, his failures as a father and husband, the things that keep him up at night wondering if he could have been a better man. The humanity at the center of the story makes these characters compelling. This isn’t a show where we’re presented with a wily serial killer and his therapist who must try and make sense of the killer’s mind. This isn’t Mindhunter, although it certainly shares some DNA with that excellent series (and I suspect fans of it will enjoy The Patient). Rather, the series seeks to break down the barriers Sam puts up around him – after all, he’s not exactly ready and willing to express why he kills and take responsibility for his actions, despite wanting therapy to “help” him curb his desires – and we get to see that Strauss is, in fact, a good therapist – albeit one who must also take into account his own safety and survival whilst trying to minister to his captor.

The episodes can get intense and dark – not just due to Sam’s actions, but also due to Strauss’s own fears working their way through his psyche – and the tension in some scenes legitimately had me on the edge of my seat (a simple brunch between Sam and several people from his life was one of the most intense scenes I’ve seen on TV this year). But this is a master class in crafting a deceptively simple narrative arc, casting the perfect people to see it through, and not being afraid to follow the story to its true conclusion. Fields and Weisberg never lose sight of their characters- their wants and needs, and their natures throughout the story. And, really, that’s a hell of a thing to accomplish. Never flashy, never showy, just a story about how two people’s lives have interconnected in such a strange yet obvious way, The Patient is the best show you aren’t watching.

All ten of The Patient’s installments are streaming on Hulu.