The Patient

As a two-hander drama between two powerful actors, this series is a marvel, and each episode and the whole season itself is just long enough to spool out the dramatic premise. Steve Carell is, as fans already know, a remarkably sympathetic actor, and is his role as a therapist seems so thoughtful and reassuring that there are moments when the interaction between his character and Gleeson's Sam appears to be bearing fruit, mental health-wise. Of course, there's the small hitch that Sam has Alan imprisoned in his basement…and already has his next victim picked out.

One thing that's surprising about The Patient is the sheer amount of dark humor: Sam's obsessed with good food, and he's infectiously enthusiastic as he describes the rarified morsels he brings to his prisoner. As the tone seesaws between the lighter moments and the ones in which we see the menace behind Sam's charm, scenes in which Alan contemplates his troubled past with son Ezra (Andrew Leeds) and late wife Beth (Laura Niemi) are something of a relief. Given the escalating consequences in each episode of The Patient, and the time bomb built into the premise, don't expect that relief to last.