10 Best Shows Like The Mentalist On Netflix

One of the best procedural dramas of the 2010s is The Mentalist, which introduced the audience to Patrick Jane (Simon Baker), and for those looking for something similar to it, Netflix has some excellent options. Procedural drama is a popular genre on TV, bringing some of the best TV shows of all time, such as The Wire, Law & Order, Criminal Minds, and The X-Files, some of them adding elements from other genres. A procedural drama TV series follows professionals and/or specialized teams who investigate a new case every episode, with some shows having overarching plots. These shows usually have a leading pair of characters with different yet complementary personalities, becoming the heart of the show. Procedural dramas don’t forget about depth, and their main characters often struggle with trauma and other personal issues that impact their careers, as is the case with The Mentalist’s Patrick Jane. Created by Bruno Heller, The Mentalist follows Patrick Jane, a former psychic and now consultant to the California Bureau of Investigation, but his career as a psychic was a fraud. Jane is no psychic, but he uses his highly developed observational skills to “read” people’s minds, which allowed him to pose as a psychic medium. Jane now uses those skills to solve murders, but he carries a lot of trauma that led him to change his career. The Mentalist combines a charming but broken lead with engaging cases, and luckily, Netflix has some great TV shows to watch after The Mentalist to continue on that line, but with some twists. Will Trent Image via MovieStillsDB Will Trent is a police procedural TV series based on the book series by Karin Slaughter. Will Trent follows the title character (played by Ramón Rodríguez), a Special Agent in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who solves the highest number of cases thanks to his incredible observation skills. Like Patrick Jane, Trent carries a lot of trauma, having been abandoned as a child and growing up in foster homes, while also facing other challenges like severe dyslexia. Both characters use unconventional methods in their investigations, with their shows balancing their darkest parts with good doses of humor. A Man on the Inside A Man on the Inside is a comedy TV series created by Michael Schur and based on Maite Alberdi’s 2020 documentary The Mole Agent. A Man on the Inside introduces viewers to Charles (Ted Danson), a retired college engineering professor and widower who is encouraged by his daughter, Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), to break out of his routine and rejoin the world. Charles then takes a job as an investigative assistant for a private detective at Kovalenko Investigations, and so his first case is that of a missing necklace at a Pacific View Retirement Community. Unlike The Mentalist, A Man on the Inside is a more comedic show, but both are led by charming investigators who use unconventional methods and who are grieving a loved one, with their new careers helping them find a new “family.” Dead to Me Dead to Me is a black comedy-crime thriller TV series created by Liz Feldman. Dead to Me follows Jen Harding (Christina Applegate) and Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini), who meet at a grief support group after Jen’s husband was killed in a hit-and-run incident and Judy claims to have lost her fiancé. In reality, Judy’s fiancé broke up with her, and she’s the hit-and-run driver. The two women form a special and deep bond, but Jen becomes more unhinged as she learns more about her husband’s death and Judy’s secrets. Dead to Me isn’t a procedural drama, but it’s a great companion to The Mentalist thanks to their characters struggling with trauma and loss, their partner dynamics that complement each other, and how they use humor to cope with truly difficult situations. The Following ©Fox/courtesy Everett Collection The Following is a crime thriller TV show created by Kevin Williamson. The Following centers on Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon), a disgraced former FBI agent working to recapture serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) after the latter’s escape from prison. Carroll has formed a cult of fanatical killers and has his own son abducted by his people, as part of a plan to escape custody, humiliate Hardy, and reunite with his ex-wife. The Mentalist’s Patrick Jane has a mission: capture Red John, a serial killer who murdered his family. Like Jane, The Following’s Hardy is on a mission to find Carroll, with whom he also has a connection through personal tragedy. Marcella Marcella is a British Nordic noir detective TV series created by Hans Rosenfeldt. Marcella follows Marcella Backland (Anna Friel), a former detective at the London Metropolitan Police who returns to work to investigate three unsolved murders from 11 years earlier. However, Marcella is struggling in her personal life, as her husband of 15 years abruptly leaves her, and her two children are in boarding school. On top of that, Marcella is dealing with dissociative blackouts that are rooted in deep trauma, tied to one specific event so traumatic that she blocked it from her memory. Marcella, like Jane, has to battle her own demons while investigating crimes and uses unconventional methods in her work, but it must be noted that Marcella is a darker show than The Mentalist. Lupin Image via Netflix Lupin is a French mystery thriller TV series based on the character Arssène Lupin, created by Maurice Leblanc. Lupin introduces the audience to Assane Diop (Omar Sy), a professional thief who arrives in France from Senegal hoping to build a better life for himself. When Assane was young, his father was framed for the theft of a diamond by his employer, the wealthy Hubert Pellegrini, and killed himself in prison. Years later, Assane sets out to clear his father’s name and avenge him, and with the help of his charisma and mastery as a thief, he looks to expose Pellegrini’s crimes and bring him down. Once more, Lupin is a show with a main character carrying a lot of trauma, and just like Patrick Jane, Assane uses psychological manipulation, misdirection, and his charm to get the information he needs. Hannibal Image courtesy of MovieStillsDb Hannibal is a psychological horror-thriller TV show based on Thomas Harris’ novels Red Dragon, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising. Hannibal follows Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), an FBI special investigator assigned to the case of a serial killer. When the investigation turns out to have a heavy impact on Graham, his boss has him supervised by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), who is secretly a serial killer and cannibal. Graham and Jane have similar ways of “reading” their subjects – one through observation and body language, and the other through the reconstruction of crime scenes by placing himself as the killer. Both shows have a core dynamic of opposite but complementary pairs, though Hannibal is more horror-oriented and thus is darker than The Mentalist. Lucifer Based on the character from DC Comics, Lucifer follows Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), the fallen angel-turned-lord of Hell who, bored and tired of his life in Hell, decides to abdicate his throne and move to Los Angeles, where he runs his own nightclub. After finding himself involved in a murder case, Lucifer begins working as a police consultant for the Los Angeles Police Department alongside detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German), with whom he forms a strong bond. Like Patrick Jane, Lucifer uses his charisma and charm to get the information he needs, though he also uses his very special power to make humans tell him their deepest desires. The pairing of Lucifer and Chloe is also reminiscent of that of Jane and Teresa Lisbon, but Lucifer has fantasy elements that give the show a very interesting twist. The Blacklist MovieStillsDB The Blacklist is a crime thriller TV series created by Jon Bokenkamp. The Blacklist follows Raymond Reddington (James Spader), a criminal and one of the FBI’s Most Wanted fugitives who cooperates with the FBI to capture other criminals on his “blacklist.” Reddington doesn’t have the skills that Patrick Jane has, but like him, he has his own reasons to help the FBI find other criminals, and he’s as charismatic, observant, and manipulative as Jane. Mindhunter Image via MovieStillsDB Based on John Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s 1995 true-crime book of the same name, Mindhunter follows FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), who, along with psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), lead a research project to interview serial killers to understand their psychology and use that knowledge to solve other cases. While Patrick Jane uses skills he has developed over the years, Mindhunter shows how those skills can be developed through deep research, and is a much deeper and more serious look into the minds of serial killers, making it a darker and more realistic complement to The Mentalist. Release Date 2008 - 2015-00-00