This Is Why CBS May Bring Back The Mentalist After Cancelling It

The news of the possible revival of The Mentalist has sent fans to a tizzy. Here is all we can tell you.

CBS’s crime drama series The Mentalist is under work for a possible revival. The show was created by Bruno Heller and ran for seven seasons with a total of 151 episodes.

Highlights —

Separating the facts from rumour about ‘The Mentalist’ revival
What was the show ‘The Mentalist’ about?
How did the show end?
When can we expect the new show to air? Who will cast in it?

It first debuted on the small screen in September 2008 and concluded in February 2015. The show is based on the exploits of Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker), a man with psychic abilities who solves cases for a fictional California Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

He employs his ability to read a person from the way they talk and behave. This helps wrap up a lot of cases for his boss Teresa Lisbon (played by Robin Tunney). The news of the possible revival has sparked up the hopes of millions. Here is all that we know-

Separating the facts from rumour

The Mentalist is considered one of the most influential series of our time. In an interview with a leading magazine, Simon Baker said that he would be reluctant to star as the “same old Patrick Jane” and would like to do something different if the show is revived.

Robin Tunney, who plays Teresa Lisbon, also chimed in with something similar. She said she is afraid to do a remake because there is a chance that it may fail and that may put a dent on the show’s sparkling record.

Network giant CBS might actually go through with the, idea considering that the entertainment industry is in a slump and The Mentalist was one of the most commercially successful shows at the time.

What is The Mentalist about?

Patrick Jane, the lead is an independent consultant (think Sherlock Holmes to Scotland Yard) to the California Bureau of Investigation. He helps them using his psychic abilities. Patrick started out helping the CBI after his wife and child were killed by a psycho killer named Red John.

He keeps visiting th CBI office for information on any progress in the case. On one such visit, he helps solve a crime by merely looking at a dead body, which impresses the higher ups in CBI, and they take him on as an independent consultant. Before that, he was a con man who lied to his clients for money by pretending to be a psychic medium.

He had garnered quite a bit of popularity with his shenanigans. He had offended Red John on a TV chat show, which made the serial killer murder his family. He gets his act right and starts off by admitting to the CBI that he does not have any supernatural abilities and that all his tricks are actually dependent on cold reading, body language, hypnosis etc.

He is joined by his colleagues Teresa Lisbon, Wayne Rigsby, Grace Van Pelt and Kimball Cho in the CBI. For the first 3 seasons of the show, the story focused on solving individual and unrelated cases, but the limelight shifts to Jane and his skirmishes with Red John from the fourth to the sixth seasons. For the remaining episodes, the story re-focuses on individual cases and delves deeper into Patrick’s life and psyche as he begins work with the FBI.

How did the show end?

The show opened up with great ratings and a strong viewer base but that gradually declined following each season. The show slipped from 6th position to the 25th during the last season.

So, CBS decided to have the show end before ratings got worse and free up the slot for something new. Some fans had appreciated the decision to not needlessly stretch and spoil their favourite show but others have felt the longing for a remake or at least another season.

In the final season of the show, we see Patrick and Teresa enter into a romantic relationship in secret. In the final episodes, Patrick proposes with a ring to which she says yes. The show ends with the entire cast celebrating their engagement and Teresa revealing to Patrick that she is pregnant with his child.

When can we expect the new show to air?

Some fans would find it hard to believe that it has been more than a decade since The Mentalist aired first. The revival remains a rumour as of now and if CBS follows through with this idea, fans should expect it to air no sooner than the second half of 2021, considering how things stand now.

In regards to the cast of the new show, it would be hard to imagine it without Simon Baker. However, neither Simon, nor any of the other cast members have confirmed the revival.

Up Next

Robert Pattinson’s Batman Will No Longer Fight For Gotham ⁠— He Needs To Save Himself