: Dr. Kreizler, an "alienist" (an early psychiatrist), believes a serial killer is at work. He conducts a parallel, covert investigation because the police have wrongfully charged a man just to close the case.
(Daniel Brühl): A brilliant but intense psychologist dedicated to understanding the "alienated" minds of criminals. [S1E1] The Boy on the Bridge
: The mutilated body of a young boy prostitute is discovered on the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge. The victim was found dressed as a girl, a detail that reminds psychologist Laszlo Kreizler of a previous unsolved murder of one of his former patients. newspaper illustrator John Moore
(Brian Geraghty): The police commissioner who provides covert support for the investigation while trying to clean up police corruption. : Dr. Kreizler
: Kreizler enlists his college friend, newspaper illustrator John Moore, and Sara Howard—the first woman hired by the NYPD and secretary to Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt. Cast and Key Characters
The episode establishes the series' dark atmosphere, blending early forensic thinking with the grit of late 19th-century New York. The Alienist Episode 1 Review: The Boy on the Bridge