10 Shows to Watch if You Miss ‘The Mentalist’
Fans of The Mentalist can return to Patrick Jane’s case files anytime they want, as Hulu added the CBS procedural to its library last year. But if you’ve already watched and rewatched every episode and are looking for similar titles, we have plenty to recommend!
The Mentalist ran for seven seasons on CBS, with Simon Baker leading the cast as Jane, a purported psychic who becomes a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation to help solve crimes with his skills of observation.
The show ended — on a romantic note! — on February 18, 2015, and here on the 10th anniversary of that finale, we have 10 recommendations for follow-up binge-watches.
Castle
If you’re looking for another long-running police procedural starring a handsome consultant wooing his cop partner — à la Jane and Lisbon — look no further. Starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, Castle had fans arrested with its seasons-long romance.
Elementary
For a more platonic pairing, try Elementary. Jonny Lee Miller plays a modern-day Sherlock Holmes who assists the NYPD with investigations, while Dr. Joan Watson — played by Lucy Liu in a gender-flipping of the sidekick character — keeps him in line.
Elsbeth
This spinoff of The Good Wife gives a fan-favorite character her moment in the spotlight. In Elsbeth, Carrie Preston’s quirky lawyer relocates from Chicago to New York City to monitor protocol at the NYPD, but her unique perspective offers detectives new insights on their cases.
High Potential
Based on a French TV series, High Potential stars Kaitlin Olson as a cleaning lady with an extraordinary IQ. After she helps crack a case while tidying up an LAPD office, the department recruits this “high potential intellectual” to spot the things that its cops miss.
Lie to Me
Actually, don’t lie to Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth). His powers of observation hone in on people’s micro-expressions, i.e. the slight facial movements that reveal what one is thinking. And, with help from the FBI, his Lightman Group illuminates the truth in criminal cases.
Medium
Inspired by the experiences of real-life purported medium Allison DuBois, Medium stars Patricia Arquette as a fictionalized Allison who uses her psychic abilities — including, yes, talking to the dead — to help the local D.A. solve crimes in her Arizona community.
Monk
Personal tragedy led to the end of Adrian Monk’s (Tony Shalhoub) career with the San Francisco Police Department. But he still consults on cases, even if they trigger his obsessive–compulsive behaviors and phobias in this series, which lasted for seven seasons and a reunion movie.
Murder, She Wrote
For nearly two decades, the late, great, Angela Lansbury played one of TV’s most endearing detectives in this series. Her Jessica Fletcher is a mystery novelist who breaks out her own magnifying glass when crime breaks out in picturesque Cabot Cove, Maine.
Prodigal Son
Prodigal Son, which lasted only two seasons, featured a different kind of police consultant: Michael Sheen plays an imprisoned serial killer who offers his insights to the son who turned him in, played by Tom Payne. It’s The Silence of the Lambs with a dysfunctional family twist!
Psych
In this light-hearted procedural, James Roday Rodriguez plays Shawn Spencer, a Santa Barbara Police Department consultant whose “psychic” abilities are just a combo of his eidetic memory and his keen observational skills. If The Mentalist had a comedy analog, it’d be Psych!
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