✎ Editor’s notes on 14 facts

TV SERIES · 2008–2015 · USA

The Mentalist

Created by: Bruno Heller
Network: CBS
Seasons: 7
Episodes: 151
Studio: Warner Bros. Television, Primrose Hill Productions

14 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious crimes with the California Bureau of Investigation.

14 Interesting Facts About The Mentalist

Production Story (4)

#001
The concept for the show (a man who is hyper-observant and fakes being a psychic) is the same as the series Psych (2006), which aired two years earlier.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Taking inspiration from Sherlock Holmes and being inspired by Psych. These are things that drag down not just The Mentalist but any show or film in general. Being original matters. As a director who also makes short films, I have two original scenes in two different short films that I've never seen in any other show, film, or video on the internet. One of them especially is more the filming of a brief moment than a scene, but I find it so iconic that I haven't seen such an iconic sequence in most shows and films. I'm saying this not because I shot these short films, but from an objective assessment.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
The Mentalist (2008): Simon Baker and Robin Tunney in The MentalistImage: IMDb
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#002
The "red" theme reflected in individual episode titles was not the only reference to the color red reflected in the series. There were an extraordinarily large number of actresses selected for roles in the series who had red hair, ranging from strawberry blond through fiery red to dark amber. There was no pattern to it, with redheads playing killers, victims, witnesses, first responders, and a wide variety of other roles. However, if there was a repeating role with multiple episodes, the actress chosen for the role was almost invariably red-haired. This begins with series regular Amanda Righetti (Grace van Pelt), and even to a degree with regular Robin Tunney (Theresa Lisbon), whose hair lightened as the series went on until in the final season it was significantly redder. Other redheads with multiple appearances include Emily Swallow (Kim Fischer, 14 episodes), Rebecca Wisocky (Brenda Shettrick, 9), Jillian Bach (Sarah Harrigan, 6), Catherine Dent (Susan Darcy, 6), and Alicia Witt (Rosalind Harker, 3). Even Samaire Armstrong (Summer Edgecombe, 8), who for most of her appearances was blond, in her first episode had hair dyed pink.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Yeah, the theme is red. I'll give Breaking Bad as an example here — every character had their own color. I know some characters' colors changed over time, but colors were part of Breaking Bad. Red is the dominant color in The Mentalist too. Associating colors with something has been done for years. For example, Facebook, one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, has a blue theme. Blue has positive meanings too, aspects that make people feel good.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
The Mentalist (2008): Lily Nicksay at The Mentalist 100th episode partyImage: Wikimedia Commons · Fjk345, CC BY-SA 4.0
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#003
Contains a major spoiler — show
The only actor in the first six seasons, with one exception, to have the word "red" in his name, frontwards or backwards, is Xander (xan-DER) Berkeley, the actor who played Red John. This is reported to be on purpose as one of the reasons he was chosen to be Red John.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Maybe the best piece of info on this page. They gave away the Red John character through a very subtle detail: an actor whose real-life name reads "red" backwards. There are always details that don't escape attentive viewers' notice. They read up on things and sometimes watch that series or film a few times. In the end they catch certain details. In the first or second game of the Batman: Arkham series there was also a hidden room with a map showing plans for the future. I didn't find it while playing the game, but apparently something like that existed.
A detail of a kind rarely seen in these parts. Because people usually look for details inside the fictional world. In 2014, while watching Game of Thrones, I predicted that Brandon of House Stark would take the throne. Then there was a period with a scene where Hodor holds the door against the White Walkers, shouting "Hodor, Hodor, Hodor," while the Brands escape. I saw a comment saying that George R. R. Martin created the Hodor character for this scene and mentioned him here and there among hundreds of pages. Years later I thought about it. Actually, it was possible to figure out from that scene in the book that Brandon would take the throne. Because only for a character important enough to take the throne would a writer create and keep alive a character across whole seasons.
Hodor, "Hold the door".
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Photo contains a major spoiler — show
The Mentalist (2008): Xander Berkeley on The MentalistImage: IMDb
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#004
Contains a major spoiler — show
The original term Mentalist came from Harry Houdini. Houdini disliked mediums and psychics
Editor’s noteArka Evren
In psychology, "psychic" relates to the psychic powers of parapsychology. Telekinesis, for example, counts as a psychic power. Being a medium is a different matter altogether.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
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The Mentalist (2008): Hooded, handcuffed manImage: IMDb
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Behind the Scenes (2)

#005
In most of season five, Amanda Righetti (Grace Van Pelt) was pregnant. Since it didn't fit in with the story line, she can only be seen sitting behind a computer or in dark shadows in almost every scene, and doesn't go into the field.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
There was similar info in another series or film too. Then, in Spider-Man: No Way Home, when the Covid-19 outbreak hit, they had a hard time filming during the pandemic. Skyler White, while pregnant in season 1 of Breaking Bad, asked creator Vince Gilligan to write a working-woman storyline for her, because she wanted to show that "pregnant women can work too."
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
The Mentalist (2008): Amanda Righetti at the computerImage: IMDb
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#006
The show has included several real life family members of the cast: Owain Yeoman's (Wayne Rigsby) then wife, Lucy Davis, appeared in the episode 18-5-4 (2010) as Daphne Valiquette, while Simon Baker (Patrick Jane)'s wife, Rebecca Rigg, daughter, Stella Baker and son, Claude, have all made appearances. Rebecca appeared in A Dozen Red Roses (2009) as Felicia Scott; Claude appeared in Red Sails in the Sunset (2012) and Stella appeared in The Greybar Hotel (2014), as the Angry Inmate.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
This is probably the third or fourth time I'm saying this, but in the world of TV and film, the people on the team can count their loved ones among them. But if you'd made that offer to an obsessive director like Stanley Kubrick, you'd probably have gotten a solid dressing-down.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
The Mentalist (2008): Simon Baker on setImage: Wikimedia Commons · Andrew Comings from Same, USA, CC BY 2.0
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Characters & Cast (4)

#007
Jane's favorite foods, referenced often throughout the series, are hot tea, eggs, and muffins.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
As emphasized above, The Mentalist has a lot of frequently repeated, unnecessary information.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
The Mentalist (2008): Simon Baker with a cup in the trailerImage: IMDb
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#008
Patrick Jane's look - blue suit, no tie, open shirt collar, hair style, smile and soft voice - is a complete replica of Simon Baker's role as Roderick Blank in Sex and Death 101 (2007). The only difference are shoes, in Mentalist they're scruffy brown ones.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
That's a negative thing. The reason I don't see The Mentalist as a very good show lines up with this information. Taking inspiration or being influenced by Sherlock Holmes is one thing, as I said above, and this is the other. Two different shows have similar characters. The show's creator didn't work on this very well. Originality matters. I don't know how widely The Mentalist is watched in Turkey, in the US, or around the world, but the show doesn't have a quality that correlates with the attention it gets.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
The Mentalist (2008): Simon Baker at the trailer doorImage: IMDb
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#009
Owain Yeoman is in fact Welsh; he puts on the American accent he uses, which even fooled the other cast members, as he always stayed in character, even when the cameras weren't rolling.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Look, this is a great example of the kind of contribution an actor can make to a show. Staying in character even when there's no camera around shows he's not just good in front of the camera. Interesting things like this happen from time to time in the world of TV and film. I wonder what his motivation is.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
The Mentalist (2008): Owain Yeoman while speakingImage: IMDb
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#010
Contains a major spoiler — show
Throughout most of the series Jane leads an almost monastic lifestyle as he searches for Red John. However, after he joins the FBI, Cho remarks to a colleague that Jane "got rich" as a psychic. This explains his early willingness to give away hundreds of thousands of dollars in blackjack and poker winnings, his indifference to being fined thousands of dollars for contempt of court, and his subsequent ability to purchase an expensive Airstream mobile home, a twenty-four acre lake house, and a very large multiple carat engagement ring for Lisbon.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Gambling is a terrible addiction. At some point it turns into a disease. Gambling, drug and alcohol addictions can put a person in such dire straits that they'll trample their own pride just to get their hands on them.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
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The Mentalist (2008): Jane, Lisbon and Cho togetherImage: IMDb
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Easter Eggs & References (1)

#011
The Citroën DS 20 Patrick Jane drives is the same one Rupert Giles drives in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Do you think this tool suits The Mentalist and/or Patrick Jane?
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
The Mentalist (2008): Citroën DS 20 Pallas carImage: Wikimedia Commons · Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Deeper Meaning (3)

#012
Many fans believe that The Mentalist draws clear inspiration from Sherlock Holmes through its main character, Patrick Jane. Like Holmes, Jane is exceptionally observant and can "read" crime scenes with remarkable precision, often noticing details others overlook. He is also supported by a team that functions in a blended Watson/Lestrade role—both assisting his deductions and working within the formal structure of law enforcement. His long-running adversary, Red John, is frequently compared to Professor Moriarty, serving as a shadowy intellectual equal who drives much of Jane's personal motivation and overarching narrative tension. Other fictional 21st-century detectives inspired by Sherlock Holmes are: * Dr. Gil Grissom and D.B. Russell, from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000). * Detective Robert Goren from Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001). * Adrian Monk from Monk (2002). * Shawn Spencer from Psych (2006). Also, even though he doesn't use his detective skills to solve crimes, Medical Doctor Gregory House from House (2004) uses Sherlock Holmes' investigative technique to diagnose medical diseases.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
It's obvious the show is inspired by Sherlock Holmes. But what matters is what this new work adds, how original it is, what it gives the audience, what new things it does and says. Even though I don't see The Mentalist as a brilliant idea, the show does offer something. But sometimes what's called inspiration often isn't inspiration at all. For example, they say the show Ezel was inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo, but if you watch the show from start to finish and you've also read the book, you'll see they have nothing to do with each other.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
The Mentalist (2008): Simon Baker at FBI officeImage: IMDb
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#013
Contains a major spoiler — show
Red John never made an attack, nor directly influenced the events of any season premiere. He never attacked, nor acted in some way, shape or form in every single season finale. In general, the season premieres dealt with the repercussions of Red John's actions from the previous season's finale.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Red John is a mystery. Red John is the wanted man. Red John is Patrick Jane's goal. Red John is kind of like the Joker, but the Joker did what he was going to do right out in the open.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Photo contains a major spoiler — show
The Mentalist (2008): Behind the scenes on the set of The MentalistImage: IMDb
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#014
Contains a major spoiler — show
The series premiere and series finale are mirrored reversals of each other. Whereas "Pilot (2008)" begins with Jane having lost his wife and daughter, "White Orchids (2015)" ends with him and Lisbon beginning their new life as a married couple and her revealing that she's pregnant.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
This is one of my favorite things in shows and movies. When the beginning and the end tie together. For example, an event or situation from the first episode of the first season of a show that ran 5 seasons repeating itself in reverse in the last episode of the final season, or a character who only appears in that one episode showing up again in the final episode, meaning they only appear at the start and at the end, the first episode and the last episode connecting to each other — that satisfies me. In The Walking Dead, for instance, a character who appeared in the first episode of the first season showed up again in an episode of season 3 or 4. And it wasn't just some random, inconsequential character's appearance either. In Breaking Bad, Walter White's pants flying through the air and falling to the ground in the first episode of the first season turn up worn and battered a few episodes before the finale, in the Ozymandias episode. Little thoughtful touches like this are the things that make me happy as a viewer.
That's why, even though I don't think The Mentalist is a very, very good show, I think it captures the connection between its beginning and its end really well. Just reading about it makes a person happy.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Photo contains a major spoiler — show
The Mentalist (2008): Jane and Lisbon at weddingImage: IMDb
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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work