Steve Carell’sThe Patienthas addedDomhnall Gleesonfor the series fromThe AmericanscreatorJoe Weisbergand writer and producer Joel Fields.The Patienthas also addedSuccessionandLodge 49starLinda Emond,This Is UsalumLaura Niemi,andZoey’s Extraordinary PlayliststarAndrew Leedsand begins production this week.
Carell is playing Alexander Strauss, a psychotherapist who is being held prisoner by a serial killer (Gleeson). Alexander begins to unpack the mind of the man keeping him captive and thus explores his own trauma and past. He’s being held captive to help this killer curb his homicidal urges. But in doing so, he opens up sides of Alexander that might prove dangerous for his captivity. Especially since Alexander recently lost his wife and has yet to unpack the grief and loss there.
The AmericansalumChris Longwill be executive producing the show as well as directing the first two episodes along withKevin Bray, who directed episodes ofInsecureandThe Americans, andGwyneth Horder-Payton, who recently directedPam & Tommy.The series will span 10 episodes from FX Productions and Weisberg and Fields are also writing and executive producing the series with Carell,Caroline Moore,Victor Hsu,and Long.
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While both Carell and Gleeson have done darker things (with Carell getting an Oscar nomination for his work inFoxcatcher), it is a bit of a departure from what they both typically lean towards. Carell is arguably most famous for his work as Michael Scott in the long-running comedyThe Officeand Gleeson was recently in the HBO comedy seriesRunafter his portrayal of General Hux in theStar Warssequel trilogy. It will be exciting to see how these two play against each other in a much darker story.
The Patientsounds fascinating and we know both Carell and Gleeson have the chops to bring these characters to life, especially with such a stacked cast and creative team. There is currently no release date forThe Patient.
