Netflix Announces Series About a Young Sigmund Freud Tracking Serial Killers in Vienna

Have you always wanted to watch a show about a young Sigmund Freud solving crimes? No? Well, Netflix is making one anyway! The streaming giant announced plans for a period crime drama following the young Father of Psychology as he uses his skills to hunt a serial killer in 19th century Vienna. Freud will be the first Netflix series to come out of Austria.

Netflix has been rapidly expanding into international markets with crossover success. The German thriller series Dark became an unlikely hit in the states, as have shows like the Spanish period drama Cable Girls and Brazil’s dystopian 3%.

This series re-imagines the young psychologist as a Sherlock Holmes-style investigator, aided by medium Fleur Salomé, and a surly war veteran and police inspector called Kiss.

A crime-fighting Freud? Frankly, I’m surprised it’s taken this long for someone to pitch the idea. Crime series are more popular than ever and expensive historical costume dramas have always had an audience. From Harlots to The Alienist to The Frankenstein Chronicles, audiences are hungry for folks in petticoats wandering down dark cobblestone alleyways in search of dead bodies. Bloody handkerchiefs included, of course.

And there were some fascinating real-life folks who debunked mysteries, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, who got their own short-lived FOX series, Houdini & Doyle which was canceled after 10 episodes. Freud is a problematic choice, however, since most of his theories (specifically those on gender and sexuality) have been debunked. Namely, his theory of penis envy (gross) and his belief that all women were controlled by their sexual desires and dysfunctions.

Freud also thought that clitoral orgasms were a sign of sexual immaturity and mental illness, so I’m sure the sex scenes in this series are going to be thrilling. I can think of other (female) scientists I would love to see topline a series. How about a show where Jane Goodall and a crew of highly intelligent primates stop a terrorist organization? Or maybe a show where Agnodice travels across the country like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, dispensing birth control and safe sex advice to everyone? Think about it, Hollywood.

(via Variety, image: AFP/Getty Images)

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