The Mentalist

This article is about the television series. For Mentalist (disambiguation), see The Mentalist (disambiguation).

The Mentalist
The Mentalist logo.
Genre	Police procedural Drama
Created by	Bruno Heller
Directed by	Chris Long David Nutter
Starring	Simon Baker Robin Tunney Tim Kang Owain Yeoman Amanda Righetti
Country of origin	USA
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	23 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Bruno Heller David Nutter
Producer	Charles Goldstein
Production locations	California, USA
Running time	approx. 43 minutes (without commercials) 1 hour (with commercials)
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 23, 2008 – present

The Mentalist is an American crime procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008 on CBS.

On May 20, 2009, CBS renewed The Mentalist for a second season. CBS will also move it to Thursdays at 10pm ET, following CSI. The first episode of the second season will air September 24, 2009.

Premise

Simon Baker stars as Patrick Jane, an independent consultant with the fictional California Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his amazing skills of observation (reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes). He also makes frequent use of his mentalist abilities and his semi-celebrity past as a psychic medium using paranormal abilities he now admits he feigned. He abandoned his pretense out of remorse when his attention-seeking behavior attracted the attention of a serial killer who killed his family.

Reception

The pilot episode had an audience of 15.6 million viewers in its first airing, and 7.8 million in a re-airing three days later. It also introduced some of Jane's backstory, indicating that his wife and daughter had been murdered five years before the series began by a serial killer known as "Red John."

On October 15, 2008, CBS ordered a full season of The Mentalist. The December 2, 2008 episode ("Flame Red") was the highest-rated television show of the week, marking the first time a program in its first season had achieved that distinction since Desperate Housewives four years earlier.

Awards

On January 7, 2009, the show won the award for "Favorite New TV Drama" at the 35th People's Choice Awards.

2009 Emmy Awards Simon Baker received a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Characters

Patrick Jane (Simon Baker)

The series protagonist and the Mentalist of the show. He had earned a living as a psychic but after series antagonist Red John murders his wife and daughter in retaliation for Jane's mocking, Jane admits he was a fraud and works as a police consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation. Though a bit eccentric, he is very perceptive and much of what he finds helps solve the cases they are investigating. He is very brilliant and in-tuned to what is around him, but is often cocky, playful, and annoyingly right, all characteristics that earn him friendship in each of his colleagues. However, he has shown a much more sinister side concerning Red John, a serial killer who murdered his family. When dealing with him, Jane becomes intense, focused, and willing to sacrifice anything, including his life, to catch him.

Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney)

Though Patrick often annoys her with his unusual behavior and going behind her back, she views him as an invaluable member of the team and will back him up on some of his most unusual theories. Her mother was killed in a drunk driving accident, leaving her to take care of her brothers and her alcoholic father. She is also the only member of the team he trusts with details of his past and they work well together, despite his attitude often causing her problems with local law enforcement. Her team was responsible for the Red John case until Agent Sam Bosco became director of the new Serial Crimes Unit, which took over the responsibility for catching Red John. She and agent Bosco, who was Lisbon's mentor when she was a junior agent, dated a long time ago and they both share a dark secret.

Kimball Cho (Tim Kang)

Often portrayed as Jane's "right-hand man" he seems the closest to Jane, often requesting help regarding finding evidence, though he does get annoyed with Jane's habit of not telling him everything he knows concerning a case. He has a dry sense of humor and is shown to be friends with Rigsby. Probably the most down-to-earth of the group, he is often the one who sees through Jane's parlor tricks. When Jane tells Van Pelt that he was moving a toothpick across the table with telekinesis, Cho simply says, "He's blowing on it." He was in juvenile hall prior to serving in the military and then joining the CBI.

Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman)

Arson specialist, he develops strong feelings for Grace Van Pelt, causing him to be overprotective of her, though he does not act on them as it is against regulations. He is tall and buff, and a good friend to Jane, though, like the others, is often annoyed by his ways. He is shown to have a good friendship with Cho.

Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti)

The newest member to the CBI. She has a deep belief in religion and psychics and will butt heads with Patrick every time he dismisses it or does something she sees as morally or religiously inappropriate. Certain episodes have shown her returning Rigsby's feelings but she too, will not act on them due to regulations. She is very strict, organized and a bit high strung, but is overall a very valuable addition to the team.

Recurring Characters

Red John

The unseen antagonist of the series. Patrick has stated that "Red John" sees himself as a "showman", as he always makes sure that his trademark, the smiley face drawn with the victim's blood, is the first thing one sees before one sees the body. After Patrick mocked Red John on a talk show, Red John retaliated by killing Patrick's wife and daughter. Though only focused on three times during the first season, he is portrayed to be very intelligent. For instance, Red John hacked into the CBI's computer system and has been using the system to monitor them for some time. So far he has been known to have two accomplices, a man that has been mentioned to have died in prison and that man's son, who held Red John in high regard. However, Patrick states Red John doesn't have partners but tools.

Virgil Minelli (Gregory Itzin)

Minelli is the Administrator of the CBI. *** Begin spoiler alert *** There are several clues in the series about the real identity of Red John. This character is currently the most logical choice. ***

Main crew

• Chris Long
• David Nutter
• Bruno Heller
• Ashley Gable
• Gary Glasberg
• Charles Goldstein
• Andi Bushell
• Eoghan Mahony
• Leanne Moore

Episode list

Main article: List of The Mentalist episodes

Ratings

Season	Timeslot (EST)	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Ranking	Viewers (in millions)
1st	Tuesday 9:00pm/8c	September 23, 2008	May 19, 2009	2008–2009	#6	17.47
2nd	Thursday 10:00pm/9c	September 24, 2009	Spring 2010	2009–2010	TBA	TBA

US Ratings

Season 1 (2008–09)

#	Episode	Air Date	Timeslot (EST)	Rating	Share	18-49 (Rating/Share)	Viewers (m)	Weekly Rank (#)
1	"Pilot"	September 23, 2008	Tuesday 9:00 P.M.	9.5	15	3.5/9	15.6	#10
2	"Red Hair and Silver Tape"	September 30, 2008		9.7	15	3.6/9	15.5	#6
3	"Red Tide"	October 14, 2008		9.4	14	3.4/8	14.9	#7
4	"Ladies in Red"	October 21, 2008		9.7	15	3.5/9	15.3	#6
5	"Redwood"	October 28, 2008		10.1	16	3.9/9	16.1	#7
6	"Red Handed"	November 11, 2008		10.1	15	4.0/10	16.5	#8
7	"Seeing Red"	November 18, 2008		9.9	15	3.5/8	15.8	#7
8	"The Thin Red Line"	November 25, 2008		9.7	15	3.7/9	15.9	#5
9	"Flame Red"	December 2, 2008		11.7	18	3.8/9	18.8	#1
10	"Red Brick and Ivy"	December 16, 2008		11.6	18	4.2/11	19.3	#2
11	"Red John's Friends"2	January 6, 2009		12.2	18	4.0/10	19.5	#4
12	"Red Rum"	January 13, 2009		11.2	16	3.8/9	18.1	#7
13	"Paint It Red"	January 18, 2009	Sunday 10:00 P.M.1	10.0	17	4.6/12	16.4	#10
14	"Crimson Casanova"	February 10, 2009	Tuesday 9:00 P.M.	12.0	18	4.2/10	19.7	#3
15	"Scarlett Fever"	February 17, 2009		11.3	17	3.8/9	18.3	#5
16	"Bloodshot"	March 17, 2009		9.8	16	3.2/8	15.5	#6
17	"Carnelian, Inc."	March 24, 2009	Tuesday 10:00 P.M.3	11.2	18	3.2/9	17.8	#4
18	"Russet Potatoes"	March 31, 2009	Tuesday 9:00 P.M.	10.5	16	3.8/9	16.9	#6
19	"A Dozen Red Roses"	April 7, 2009		10.3	16	3.6/9	16.8	#6
20	"Red Sauce"	April 28, 2009		10.5	16	3.7/9	16.9	#4
21	"Miss Red"	May 5, 2009		10.4	16	3.6/9	16.7	#5
22	"Blood Brothers"	May 12, 2009		10.2	16	3.3/8	16.2	#5
23	"Red John's Footsteps"	May 19, 2009		10.4	16	3.7/10	17.2	#5

Note 1: January 18's episode followed the AFC Championship Game

• 6:44-10:21pm ET: 40.64 million viewers, 14.7 (18-49 demo rating), household peak: 25.5 rating (10-10:15)
• 10:21-10:34pm: AFC Championship Post Game - 25.44 million viewers, 9.0, household peak: 15.0 rating
• 10:34-11:34pm: The Mentalist 16.39, 4.6, household peak: 10.6 rating

The NFC Championship peaked at 6:00-6:15pm with a 25.4 household rating.

Note 2: Now airs Sundays on CTV in Canada.

Note 3: March 24's episode was pushed back following a Presidential news conference.

UK ratings

Season 1 (2009)

The Mentalist airs on Thursday nights at 9pm on Five. The first season will be released on DVD November 2, 2009.

Episode Number	Episode	Air Date	Viewers (million)	Ranka
1	Pilot	March 26, 2009	4.21	#1
2	Red Hair and Silver Tape	April 2, 2009	3.80	#1
3	Red Tide	April 9, 2009	3.45	#1
4	Ladies in Red	April 16, 2009	2.91	#2
5	Redwood	April 23, 2009	3.03	#2
6	Red Handed	April 30, 2009	2.87	#2
7	Seeing Red	May 7, 2009	2.57	#5
8	The Thin Red Line	May 14, 2009	3.00	#2
9	Flame Red	May 21, 2009	2.89	#2
10	Red Brick and Ivy	May 28, 2009	2.08	#3
11	Red John's Friends	June 4, 2009	3.03	#1
12	Red Rum	June 11, 2009	3.16	#2
13	Paint it Red	June 18, 2009	3.12	#2
14	Crimson Casanova	June 25, 2009	2.85	#2
15	Scarlett Fever	July 2, 2009	2.90	#2
16	Bloodshot	July 9, 2009	2.52	#2
17	Carnelian, Inc.	July 16, 2009	2.34	#2
18	Russet Potatoes	July 23, 2009	2.19	#2
19	A Dozen Red Roses	July 30, 2009	1.54*	TBA
20	Red Sauce	August 6, 2009	1.58*	TBA
21	Miss Red	August 13, 2009	TBA	TBA

^a Ranks are for FIVE weekly, not for overall TV.
^* Overnight ratings.

DVD Releases

The Mentalist: The Complete First Season has a release date of September 22, 2009 in the US and September 2, 2009 in Australia.

International broadcast

Country	Network	Start date
Canada	A Channel/CTV	September 23, 2008/January 9, 2009
Australia	Nine Network	October 5, 2008
Austria	ORF 1	March 1, 2009
Belgium Dutch	VT4	February 4, 2009
Denmark	TV3	February 2, 2009
Latin America	Warner Channel	November 2008
Poland	N	December 3, 2008
Poland	Canal+ Poland	April 16, 2009
Germany	Sat.1	March 1, 2009
South Africa	M-Net	January 14, 2009
The Netherlands	SBS 6	January 1, 2009
United Kingdom	Five/Five USA	March 26, 2009
Ireland	RTE One	April 16, 2009
Spain	La Sexta/TNT	January, 2009
Norway	TV3 Norway	January 7, 2009
Hungary	RTL Klub	February 2, 2009
Turkey	Dizimax - Digiturk	February, 2009
Sweden	TV3 Sweden	February 17, 2009
Greece	Nova Cinema	February 4, 2009
Croatia	RTL Televizija	March 4, 2009
Italy	Joi (TV channel)	April 28, 2009
Middle east	MBC Action	April 2009
Portugal	RTP2	May 12, 2009
Brazil	Warner Channel	November 6, 2008
France	TPS Star/TF1	April 20, 2009/September 2009
Belgium French	Be TV/RTBF	May 18, 2009/September 2009
Philippines	C/S Origin	June 15, 2009(?)
Israel	Yes Stars	June (?)
Finland	MTV3	September 3, 2009
Hong Kong	TVB Pearl	July 15, 2009
Thailand	True Series	July 9, 2009
Slovakia	TV Markíza
Malaysia	NTV7	July 11, 2009
Singapore	Channel 5	July 28, 2009

Reviews

• Sanneh, Kelefa (2008). "On Television: Science Projects". The New Yorker. 84 (38): 122–123. Retrieved 16 April 2009. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |day= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Time

References

• Pilot Broadcast Ratings
• Ratings for Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008
• Ratings for Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008
• Nielsen Trend Index
• TVBYTheNumbers
• [1]

External links

• Episode recaps at CBS.com
• The Mentalist at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show