Spoiler Warning: The Patient Season One

The media landscape has become increasingly oversaturated with serial killer content, from fictional explorations of sociopaths to terrifying true-crime sagas. As such, it has become rather difficult to find a new way to explore mass murderers and their gruesome crimes. The recently released television series The Patient, created by Joe Weisberg (The Americans) and available to be streamed on Hulu, is a fresh look inside the mind of a killer seeking to leave his legacy of death behind him.

The show boasts an impressive cast. The serial killer at the center of the series, Sam Fortner, is portrayed by Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter, Star Wars), who seeks therapy to address his murderous tendencies, making him the titular patient. His therapist, Alan Strauss, who he eventually kidnaps and chains to a bed in his remote home, is played by Steve Carell.

Andrew Leeds (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Silicon Valley) is Strauss's estranged son Ezra, Linda Emond (Madam Secretary, The Blacklist) plays his late wife Beth, and Alan's former therapist Charlie Addison is portrayed by David Alan Grier (Jumanji, A Series of Unfortunate Events).

While all the cast members deliver pitch-perfect performances, it is inarguably Alan Strauss who steals the show. Here's why Steve Carell is so compelling in The Patient.

Steve Carell's Incredible Acting Range

In a drama series as emotionally complex as The Patient, it stands to reason that the creators would need to find actors with incredible range. Everyone is familiar with Steve Carell's best comedic performances, from his lengthy stint as the bumbling paper company manager Michael Scott in The Office to the simple-minded Brick Tamland in Anchorman.

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However, Carell has also taken on a handful of notable dramatic roles, though the characters often still showcase his trademark humor styling. In two Adam McKay pictures, The Big Short and Vice, he portrayed FrontPoint Partners trading firm manager Mark Baum and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, respectively.

Carell's The Patient character Alan Strauss is not funny at all, but given his predicament, that's understandable. Nevertheless, his talents translate perfectly to the role, and audiences believe every ounce of fear and emotional reckoning that plague the character throughout the series.

Alan Strauss Is Grieving While Taking on More Trauma

The Patient Steve Carell
FX

As The Patient unfolds, audiences see Alan Strauss grappling with the loss of his beloved wife. This adds an extra layer of tragedy to the events of the series, and establishes Carell's character as being in a period of uncertainty, made all the more visceral by his unexpected incarceration.

In the second episode of the series, entitled "Alan Learns to Meditate," audiences see flashbacks of Alan with his late wife as she introduces him to the practice of meditation. Strauss is then seen attempting to meditate in his makeshift prison. Clearly, he and his wife were dramatically different individuals, though it seems as if that was exactly the glue that held their relationship together.

It's also possible that the lessons Strauss learned from his wife are exactly what will allow him to escape the clutches of a serial killer or even help reform him. The spirit of Strauss's late wife seems to be deeply ingrained in his psyche, and flashes of this are seen in Carell's performance.

Reluctantly Exploring the Machinations of a Mass Murderer

The Patient with Steve Carrel
FX

At the midpoint of The Patient's first episode, "Intake," Alan Strauss is kidnapped by Gene, one of his former patients, who reveals himself to be a serial killer named Sam. Sam explains that he felt unable to fully disclose the extent of his psychological torment while in a therapist's office and that kidnapping Strauss was the only possible way he could truly be reformed.

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Sam is not physically imposing, and his character is understated, so audiences have yet to get a glimpse at his homicidal tendencies. Alan Strauss will need to utilize every ounce of his talent and experience as a mental health professional to "cure" the serial killer and potentially save his own life in the process.

Balancing his fear at the prospect of being yet another of Sam's victims with the difficult task of psychoanalyzing a serial killer will make for a rather challenging performance, especially when Strauss's confinement continues over an extended period of time. Still, Steve Carell is undoubtedly suited for this challenging role.

The Patient has been the recipient of rave reviews. The first few episodes have been undeniably compelling, and there's no telling what sort of twists and turns will come as the series unfolds. There is much more to learn about the characters, and Steve Carell's Strauss may prove to be almost as psychologically complicated as the serial killer who put him in chains.