The Irrational

2023 American procedural drama television series

The Irrational

Genre|

* Police procedural
* Crime drama

Created by| Arika Mittman
Based on| Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely
Starring|

* Jesse L. Martin
* Maahra Hill
* Travina Springer
* Molly Kunz
* Arash DeMaxi

Composer| Danny Lux
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of seasons| 1
No. of episodes| 6
Production
Executive producers|

* Arika Mittman
* Mark Goffman
* Samuel Baum

Producer| Jesse L. Martin
Running time| 42 minutes
Production companies|

* Simon-Binx Productions
* Samuel Baum Productions
* Off the Cliff Entertainment
* Universal Television

Original release
Network| NBC
Release| September 25, 2023 (2023-09-25) –
present

The Irrational is an American crime drama television series created by Arika Mittman. It stars Jesse L. Martin, and premiered September 25, 2023, on NBC. The Irrational is based on the 2008 non-fiction book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely.

## Premise[edit]

The show centers on Alec Mercer, a world-renowned professor of behavioral psychology with a unique insight into human nature. Mercer lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, corporations, and law enforcement. However, he meets his match in a female domestic terror suspect who turns his world upside down.

## Cast[edit]

* Jesse L. Martin as Professor Alec Mercer, a world-renowned expert in behavioral science
* Maahra Hill as Marisa, an FBI agent and Alec's ex-wife
* Arash DeMaxi as Rizwan, one of Mercer's grad students
* Molly Kunz as Phoebe, Alec's grad student assistant
* Travina Springer as Kylie, Alec's younger sister
* Brian King as Agent Jace Richards, an FBI agent and Marisa's new boyfriend

## Episodes[edit]

No.| Title [1][2][3]| Directed by| Written by [4]| Original air date [1][2][3]| U.S. viewers
(millions)| Rating/share
(18-49)

|
|
|
|
|
|

1| "Pilot"| David Frankel| Arika Lisanne Mittman| September 25, 2023 (2023-09-25)| 3.81[5]| 0.34/3[5]
2| "Dead Woman Walking"| Jesse Warn| Arika Lisanne Mittman| October 2, 2023 (2023-10-02)| 3.98[6]| 0.29/3[6]
3| "The Barnum Effect"| John Terlesky| Mark Goffman| October 9, 2023 (2023-10-09)| 3.94[7]| 0.31/3[7]
4| "Zero Sum"| Janice Cooke| Robert Hewitt Wolfe| October 16, 2023 (2023-10-16)| 3.50[8]| 0.24/2[8]
5| "Lucky Charms"| Amanda Tapping| Lydia Teffera| October 23, 2023 (2023-10-23)| 3.73[9]| 0.29/3[9]
6| "Point and Shoot"| Ernest Dickerson| Teleplay by : Kirk Moore
Story by : Kirk Moore & Jordan Rosenberg| October 30, 2023 (2023-10-30)| 3.54[10]| 0.27/3[10]
7| "The Real Deal"| TBA| Mira Z. Barnum| November 6, 2023 (2023-11-06)| TBD| TBA
8| "Scorched Earth"| TBA| TBA| November 13, 2023 (2023-11-13)| TBD| TBA

## Production[edit]

### Development[edit]

In November 2021, it was announced NBC had given a put pilot commitment to The Irrational created by Arika Mittman, inspired by the 2008 book Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.[11] In February 2022 it received a pilot order.[12] In April 2022, it was announced Jesse L. Martin was cast as the show's lead character, Alec Becker, and would also produce the pilot. It was also announced that the series would be written by Arika Mittman with Dan Ariely serving as consultant.[13] In September 2022, NBC commissioned a mini-room to produce a couple of backup scripts to go with the well received pilot.[14] In October 2022, NBC extended its options on the cast which were due to expire in October to December.[15] In December 2022, NBC picked up The Irrational pilot and gave it a series order. It was revealed at this time that David Frankel was the director, and would also be serving as an executive producer along with Mittman, Mark Goffman and Samuel Baum.[16]

### Casting[edit]

In May 2022, it was announced that Maahra Hill would be joining the cast in a lead role opposite Jesse L. Martin.[17] In June 2022, Travina Springer, Molly Kunz, and Arash DeMaxi were added to the cast. In June 2023, Brian King joined the cast in a recurring role.[18]

### Filming[edit]

Filming of the pilot took place in late May to early June of 2022 in Vancouver,[17] standing in for Washington, D.C., and the adjoining Virginia area.[19]

## Release[edit]

The Irrational premiered on September 25, 2023, on NBC. It is available to stream on Peacock.[20] The pilot episode of The Irrational then premiered on September 27, 2023 on USA Network.[21]

## Reception[edit]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 47% with an average rating of 5.1/10, based on 17 critic reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Irrational could've used a lot more originality to live up to its promise, although Jesse L. Martin's shrewd presence makes even the utterly conventional pretty watchable."[3] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[22]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Shows A-Z - irrational, the on nbc". The Futon Critic. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
2. ^ a b "The Irrational Episode Guide". Zap2it. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
3. ^ a b c "The Irrational: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
4. ^ "The Irrational". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
5. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (September 26, 2023). "Monday Ratings: Decent Results for The Voice 24th Season Premiere and The Irrational Debut on NBC". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
6. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 3, 2023). "Monday Ratings: CBS Debuted Game Show Loteria Loca". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
7. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 10, 2023). "Monday Ratings: The Irrational on NBC Remains a Decent Draw in Total Viewers in Week Three". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
8. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 17, 2023). "Monday Ratings: ABC and ESPN's NFL Monday Night Football and MLB's NLCS Game 1 on TBS and truTV Dominate in Prime Time Key Demos". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
9. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 26, 2023). "Monday Ratings: Fox and FS1 Earn Decent Numbers with Game 7 of MLB's ALCS Despite Opposite the NFL". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
10. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 31, 2023). "Monday Ratings: NFL Monday Night Football on ABC and ESPN Unsurprisingly Tops MLB World Series Game Three on Fox". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 30, 2021). "NBC Nabs 'The Irrational' Drama From Arika Lisanne Mittman Inspired By Dan Ariely's Book As Put Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
12. ^ White, Peter (February 4, 2022). "Dean Georgaris' 'Blank Slate' & Arika Mittman's 'The Irrational' Land Pilot Orders At NBC". Deadline. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 13, 2022). "Jesse L. Martin Departs 'The Flash' As Series Regular After 8 Seasons, Will Headline NBC Pilot 'The Irrational'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 13, 2022). "NBC Off-Cycle Pilots Update: 'The Irrational' Gets Additional Scripts & More". Deadline. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
15. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 27, 2022). "NBC Pilot 'The Irrational' Extends Options On Cast Led By Jesse L. Martin". Deadline. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
16. ^ Petski, Denise (December 27, 2022). "'The Irrational' Drama Starring Jesse L. Martin Lands NBC Series Order". Deadline. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
17. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 19, 2022). "'Delilah's Maahra Hill To Star In NBC Pilot 'The Irrational' As OWN Series Has Ended". Deadline. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
18. ^ Petski, Denise (June 7, 2023). "'The Irrational': Brian King Joins NBC Drama Series As Recurring". Deadline.
19. ^ Gomulka, Stephanie (2023-10-03). "Where Does The Irrational Starring Jesse L. Martin Take Place, and Where Did it Film?". NBC Insider. Archived from the original on 2023-10-08. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
20. ^ Petski, Denise (August 28, 2023). "'The Irrational' Trailer: 'Law & Order' Alum Jesse L. Martin Is Back To Crime-Solving In NBC Procedural". Deadline. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
21. ^ "The Irrational on USA Network". USA Network. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
22. ^ "The Irrational: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved September 26, 2023.

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* The Irrational at IMDb

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