Storyline for Instinct on Paramount Plus

The Gist: Dr. Dylan Reinhart (Alan Cumming) is a specialist in abnormal behavior — he wrote a book called Freaks that was a huge hit.

He’s now a professor and feeling that things have gotten boring compared to his previous life.

It’s coming out in his writing; his editor (Whoopi Goldberg) chides him that his second manuscript is flat and lacks heart, and he needs to have new experiences in order to liven things up.

A former CIA operative is lured back to his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer.

Dr. Dylan Reinhart (Alan Cumming) is a gifted author and university professor living a quiet life teaching psychopathic behavior to packed classes of adoring students.

But when top NYPD detective Lizzie Needham (Bojana Novakovic) appeals to him to help her catch a serial murderer who is using Dylan’s first book as a tutorial, Dylan is compelled by the case, comes out of retirement, and taps into his old skill-set.

Though Dylan and Lizzie initially clash, when it comes to catching killers, they realize that they will make an ideal team if they both trust their instincts.

Based on the James Patterson book.

Episodes of Instinct on Paramount Plus

S1.E1 ∙ Pilot
A college professor and author (who is secretly a retired CIA agent) is asked to help a homicide detective.

Episodes of Instinct on Paramount Plus, S1.E2 ∙ Wild Game
Although Dylan has returned to teaching, Lizzie calls upon his expertise with profiling sociopaths to assist with a bizarre case in which a venture capitalist was murdered and his body ritualistically displayed.

S1.E3 ∙ Secrets and Lies
The murder of a young man who recently left his family’s religious community leads Dylan and Lizzie to a series of possible suspects, including a short-tempered photographer and a mysterious girl with amnesia.

Also, Lizzie’s younger sister, Katie, unexpectedly drops by for a visit.

Episodes of Instinct on Paramount Plus,S1.E4 ∙ I Heart New York
When the FBI take over the investigation of a chemical attack on a subway train, Dylan and Lizzie are assigned an unusual murder in Central Park; Dylan’s father appears due to the subway attack.

S1.E5 ∙ Heartless
Dylan and Lizzie investigate the murder of a Jane Doe, but when they realize that the victim was killed by mistake, they must identify the killer’s motive and intended target before she suffers the same fate.

Episodes of Instinct on Paramount Plus,S1.E6 ∙ Flat Line
Dylan and Julian go undercover in a hospital when they suspect an “angel of death” is killing people with non-life-threatening ailments.

Also, Lizzie asks Andy for his legal expertise when a personal trainer sues her for accidentally injuring him.

S1.E7 ∙ Owned
Dylan and Lizzie are under pressure to deliver results when they investigate the death of Jasmine’s friend, the owner of a professional basketball team who died when her car went off a bridge.

Episodes of Instinct on Paramount Plus, S1.E8 ∙ Long Shot
When a woman is shot outside a community center, Dylan and Lizzie are challenged by the mayor to solve the case in less than 24 hours to quell pressure from the media and special interest groups.

S1.E9 ∙ Bad Actors
Two members of an acting troupe are killed using sophisticated poisons; Andy worries that Dylan isn’t fitting in, so he encourages Dylan to attend a barbecue being thrown by Detective Fucci.

Episodes of Instinct on Paramount Plus, S1.E10 ∙ Bye Bye Birdie
Dylan and Lizzie look into the attempted murder of a successful author; Lizzie gets closer to learning the truth about the death of her fiancé, who was killed while under cover.