10 best period crime dramas to watch right now

2. The Alienist

Years it ran: 2018 to 2020

Network it aired on: The series is a TNT series.

What it’s about: The Alienist brings us a different type of crime drama. Rather than just focusing on finding the criminal, we get to see the early days of criminal psychology. Those who treated the minds were known as Alienists.

Dr. Laszlo Kreizler is pulled into the case, and he works with two unlikely allies: a journalist and a female police secretary. John and Sara end up being powerful allies with their own skills to get to the bottom of two extremely dark and twisty cases.

Why you need to watch it: If you’ve ever wondered about the early days of criminal psychology, this is the series for you. We also get to focus on various social topics of the time, including how women were often looked down on and believed not to be any good at anything. Sara quickly proves everyone wrong, even if they don’t want to see it.

There are also some excellent personal storylines woven into the story. These storylines help us understand the reasons the characters do what they do, exploring their psyches as well as the psyches of the people they’re after.