Steve Carell plays a therapist who gets locked in a room with a man who has killed people. That’s the whole premise of The Patient, and it’s a tighter setup than most shows manage in an hour. The Hulu series, created by Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, runs ten episodes and asks a simple question: can one man change another man’s mind about killing?
Carell plays Alan Strauss, a psychiatrist whose office becomes his prison when Sam Fortner (Domhnall Gleeson) walks in and refuses to leave. Fortner wants therapy, but not the kind Strauss prescribes. He wants to stop being a murderer, and he believes Strauss is the only one who can do it. The show spends its runtime circling that bargain, with Strauss trying to understand why he agreed to treat a confessed killer and Fortner trying to prove he’s not beyond repair.
Trailer, via FX Networks.
Carell and Gleeson Carry the Weight
Carell’s performance is the engine of the series. He plays Strauss as a man who has always trusted his instincts, and now those instincts are being tested by a patient who won’t let him out. The tension comes from Strauss’s refusal to give up on anyone, even when the evidence suggests he should. Carell sells the fear and the defiance in equal measure, making Strauss feel both trapped and strangely committed to his role.
Gleeson’s Sam Fortner is the opposite. He’s a killer who wants to stop being one, but he doesn’t want to admit it. Gleeson plays him with a cold precision that makes his sincerity hard to judge. The show never settles on whether Fortner is truly remorseful or simply manipulating Strauss for his own gain, and that ambiguity is what makes him dangerous.
The supporting cast fills out the world around them. Linda Emond plays Candace Fortner, Sam’s wife, who watches her husband’s behavior grow stranger. Laura Niemi plays Beth Strauss, Alan’s wife, who can’t understand why her husband is risking everything for a man she knows is dangerous. Andrew Leeds rounds out the family as Ezra Strauss, Alan’s son, whose perspective on the situation is filtered through teenage confusion.
Ten Episodes, One Room
The show is a limited series, and that structure works in its favor. There’s no filler episode where the plot stalls. Every scene moves the needle on Strauss’s growing realization that he may have made a terrible mistake. The pacing is relentless, and the show trusts the audience to follow the logic of a man who is slowly realizing he has been used.
The writing leans heavily on dialogue. There are few action set pieces and almost no violence shown on screen. Instead, the show relies on verbal sparring between Strauss and Fortner, with each man trying to outmaneuver the other. This approach keeps the tension high without relying on spectacle.
The Verdict on the Screen
The Patient is a smart, tense thriller that mostly delivers on its promise. It’s not perfect. Some of the middle episodes lean on repetition, and the final stretch rushes through a reveal that could have used more breathing room. But the core relationship between Carell and Gleeson is strong enough to carry the weaker stretches.
The show also benefits from its limited format. A longer series might have stretched out the premise until it lost its shape. As it stands, the ten episodes feel like a complete story, even if some threads get tied off a bit too neatly.
The critical reception mirrored our own assessment. Carell earned a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie. Gleeson received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries.
The Numbers Behind the Show
- Creator: Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields
- Starring: Steve Carell, Domhnall Gleeson, Linda Emond
- First aired: August 30, 2022
- Last aired: October 25, 2022
- Episodes: 10
- Network: FX on Hulu
The show’s production credits include Chris Long, Caroline Moore, Victor Hsu, and Steve Carell as executive producers. The cast expanded through 2022, with Alex Rich and David Alan Grier joining as recurring characters.
The show’s Metacritic aggregate sits at 7.4 out of 10, which matches our own reading of it.
What Stays With You
What lingers is the question the show raises: can a killer be changed? The Patient doesn’t offer a clean answer. It leaves the door open, and that uncertainty is part of what makes it work. Carell’s commitment to the role is the reason it holds together, and Gleeson’s menace keeps the tension from collapsing into melodrama.
The show isn’t for everyone. Its slow-burn pace will frustrate viewers looking for explosions. But for those willing to sit with the discomfort, there’s a rewarding payoff in the final episode.
If you’re looking for a binge-worthy series with a strong central performance, The Patient delivers. It’s a solid entry in the limited-series genre, anchored by two actors who clearly enjoy working against each other.
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