Patrick Jane ruined us. Honestly, it’s his fault. Before The Mentalist hit our screens in 2008, procedural leads were mostly gritty cops or tech-savvy lab geeks. Then came Simon Baker with that smug, charming smirk, a three-piece suit, and the ability to tell someone’s deepest secret just by looking at the way they tied their shoelaces. We were hooked. Finding shows like The Mentalist isn't just about looking for another crime-of-the-week series; it’s about chasing that specific high of watching a "fake" psychic outsmart everyone in the room.
It’s been years since the hunt for Red John ended, but the craving for that particular blend of arrogance, tragedy, and deductive brilliance hasn't faded. You want that specific flavor. You want the lead who is probably the smartest person in any building but also the most emotionally broken.
The "Mentalist" archetype isn't just about being a detective. It’s about the art of the "cold read." It's about Sherlock Holmes without the deerstalker. If you’ve finished your fifteenth rewatch of Jane and Lisbon’s "will-they-won’t-they" tension, you’re likely looking for something that captures that same lightning in a bottle.
The Psychology of the "Fake" Expert
Why does this trope work? Most shows like The Mentalist lean heavily on the idea that the protagonist has a secret weapon that isn't actually supernatural. It’s just hyper-observation.
Take Psych, for example. It’s basically the comedic mirror image of Patrick Jane’s life. Shawn Spencer, played by James Roday Rodriguez, spends eight seasons pretending to be a psychic for the Santa Barbara Police Department. While Jane used his "psychic" past as a source of shame and a tool for revenge, Shawn uses it to avoid getting arrested for being too observant. It’s lighter. It’s sillier. But the core mechanic—seeing the things the police miss because they’re too busy following "the rules"—is identical. You’ve got the skeptical partner (Gus/Lisbon), the annoyed police chief, and the constant threat of the lie being exposed.
If you want the vibes but less of the trauma, Psych is the move. But if you're here for the trauma? Well, that's where things get darker.
Pushing the Boundaries of Observation
Then there’s Lie to Me. This one is fascinating because it’s actually based on a real person, Dr. Paul Ekman. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) doesn’t claim to be a psychic. He’s a deception expert. He reads micro-expressions. If you twitch your eyebrow for 1/25th of a second, he knows you’re lying about where you were on Tuesday night.
The show feels more clinical than The Mentalist, but Lightman shares Jane’s absolute lack of respect for authority. He’ll barge into an interrogation, insult a senator, and solve a case before the opening credits are over. It’s that same "smartest guy in the room" energy that makes these shows so addictive. You aren't just watching a mystery; you're watching a masterclass in human behavior. Or at least, the Hollywood version of it.
The British Influence: Sherlock and Beyond
We can't talk about shows like The Mentalist without mentioning the BBC’s Sherlock. Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss basically took the blueprint of the observant detective and dialed the sociopathy up to eleven. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock doesn't have the warmth that Patrick Jane occasionally flashes, but the deductive "mind palace" sequences fulfill that same visual craving for seeing the world through an expert's eyes.
There's a specific thrill in seeing the world slowed down. When Jane notices the tan line on a finger where a wedding ring used to be, or when Sherlock notices the specific type of mud on a trouser cuff, it makes us feel like we could do it too. We can't. Obviously. But for 42 minutes, we feel like we're in on the secret.
Unconventional Experts You Might Have Missed
If you’ve already seen the big names, you have to dig a bit deeper into the "procedural with a twist" genre.
Elementary is often unfairly dismissed as "the American Sherlock," but it’s actually much closer to The Mentalist in terms of character growth. Jonny Lee Miller’s Holmes is a recovering addict. His vulnerability is front and center, much like Jane’s grief over his wife and daughter. The relationship between Holmes and Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) is one of the best slow-burn partnerships on television. It captures that mutual respect and platonic (and eventually complicated) love that made Jane and Lisbon work.
- White Collar: This is for those who liked the "criminal helping the law" aspect. Neal Caffrey is a con man, not a mentalist, but his skill set—forgery, misdirection, reading people—overlaps almost perfectly with Patrick Jane’s.
- Perception: Eric McCormack plays a neuropsychiatrist with schizophrenia who helps the FBI. It’s a bit more "science-heavy," but it hits that niche of an outsider using a unique brain to solve crimes.
- The Blacklist: This is a stretch for some, but James Spader’s Raymond Reddington is essentially what would happen if Patrick Jane became a global crime lord instead of a consultant. The dialogue is snappy, the secrets are deep, and the lead is always five steps ahead of everyone else.
Why the "Consultant" Formula Still Dominates
The FBI consultant trope is a goldmine for writers. It allows for a character who is "in" the system but not "of" it. They don't have to fill out paperwork. They don't have to follow the Fourth Amendment (well, the show's version of it anyway). They can be as eccentric as they want because they’re "special."
The Mentalist thrived because it balanced this eccentricity with a very real, very dark overarching plot. The Red John saga was polarizing—some people loved the mystery, others thought it dragged on way too long—but it gave the show stakes. When you're looking for a replacement, you're often looking for that balance. You want a show that can do a funny episode about a magician one week and a soul-crushing episode about a serial killer the next.
Castle did this reasonably well for a few seasons. Richard Castle is a mystery novelist, not a psychic, but he uses his "storyteller’s mind" to see patterns. The chemistry between Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic is legendary, and while the show leans more into the romance than the psychological grit, it’s high-quality comfort food for any Mentalist fan.
The New Wave: Poker Face and Will Trent
Fast forward to the 2020s. The genre has evolved. Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne, is a brilliant modern take on the "human lie detector" trope. It’s structured more like Columbo—you see the crime happen first, then you watch the protagonist figure it out. Charlie Cale (Lyonne) just "knows" when someone is lying. She doesn't know what they're lying about, just that they are. It’s grittier, funnier, and feels remarkably fresh while honoring the shows that came before it.
Then there’s Will Trent. Based on the Karin Slaughter books, Will is an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who has severe dyslexia but incredible visual processing skills. He’s an outsider. He wears three-piece suits in the heat of Atlanta (sound familiar?). He’s got a traumatic past that he hides behind a wall of competence. It’s probably the closest thing we have on TV right now to the spirit of Patrick Jane.
The "Must-Watch" Comparison
If you're trying to decide what to queue up next, think about what part of The Mentalist you liked most.
If you loved the mind games and manipulation, go with Lie to Me or Sherlock. These shows prioritize the "how" of the deduction. They want to show you how the trick is done.
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If you loved the humor and the partnership, Psych or Castle are your best bets. They won't make you cry as much, but they'll keep you entertained.
If you loved the broken man seeking redemption, Elementary or Will Trent are the clear winners. They understand that being the smartest person in the room is usually a very lonely experience.
Real-World Nuance: The Reality of "Mentalism"
It’s worth noting that real-world mentalism, practiced by people like Derren Brown or Banachek, is far more about stagecraft than solving murders. The Mentalist actually did a decent job of showing this—Jane often used actual magic tricks, cold reading, and "the tell" to get his results.
Most procedurals get the science wrong. "Micro-expressions" are a real thing, but they aren't a magical "truth" button like they are in Lie to Me. In reality, even the best experts only have a slightly better than 50/50 chance of spotting a lie. But we don't watch TV for reality. We watch it to see a guy in a nice vest tell a billionaire that he knows he killed his wife because of the way he blinked.
Moving Forward With Your Watchlist
Finding a show that captures that exact magic is tough, but the "Brilliant-But-Flawed Consultant" genre isn't going anywhere. To get the most out of your next binge-watch, stop looking for a clone and start looking for the core elements.
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- Check out Will Trent on Hulu. It’s the most modern equivalent and handles the "expert with a secret" trope with a lot of grace.
- Give Elementary a fair shake. If you were put off by the "Sherlock in New York" premise, push past the first five episodes. The character development is arguably better than The Mentalist.
- Revisit Psych for a palate cleanser. If the Red John stuff got too heavy, the antics of Shawn and Gus are the perfect antidote.
- Watch Derren Brown’s specials. If you want to see how "Patrick Jane" stuff works in real life, Brown’s Push or The Sacrifice on Netflix will blow your mind more than any scripted show.
The truth is, we’re probably never going to get another Patrick Jane. Simon Baker brought a specific type of "sad clown" energy to the role that is hard to replicate. But the hunt for truth through observation? That’s a story as old as time. Whether it’s a fake psychic, a novelist, a con man, or a dyslexic GBI agent, we’re always going to be suckers for the person who sees what we don’t.
Start with Will Trent tonight. It's got the suits, the trauma, and the brilliance. You won't regret it.