The Alienist 

PODCAST Partnership

Role: Creative Strategist

In January of 2018, TNT launched their first prestige TV show, The Alienist, a dark crime drama that takes place in 1896 New York. The network wanted to reach a sophisticated audience that loves crime stories. We realized the people TNT wanted to reach were the same people who listened to true crime podcasts. 

True crime is one of the most popular storytelling genres. This audience seeks out rabbit holes that lead them down dark and twisted puzzles. For these fans, context is everything. In order to build intrigue and set the stage for the premiere, we needed to introduce them to the world of The Alienist.

Our solution was a podcast takeover called Nineteenth Century Nightmares. We partnered with eight popular true crime podcasts. Each created a custom, sponsored episode about a true crime that took place during the time of The Alienist and wrapped the tale in tune-in messaging. 

All eight podcasts were released during the week leading up to the premiere on TNT, and reached a combined, targeted audience of over eight million listeners. You can listen to the custom episodes below.   

The Bowery Boys explored the case of McGurk's Suicide Hall, the most notorious dive bar in nineteenth century New York. 

Criminal covered a murder in Argentina that took place in 1892, and explained how that event changed the way murders were solved. 

The Last Podcast on the Left told the story of The Thames Torso Murders. 

Casefile dropped listeners into 1878 New York. 

The inception of fingerprint technology drives the narrative of the The Alienist forward. Generation Why talked about how this new technology helped to solve the 1905 murders of Thomas and Ann Farrow. 

Thinking Sideways chose the Pimlico Mystery, a case of chloroform poisoning that took place in 1886.  

In the late 1800s, Nurse Jane Toppan overcame a difficult childhood to carve out a career in nursing—only to end up killing many patients. Serial Killers explains.  

Unsolved Murders discusses a Wall Street explosion that took place in close proximity to the events in The Alienist. 

Creative Director: Stacy Fuller Creative Strategist: Amy Allen