The Irrational Explained

Creator:Arika Mittman
Composer:Danny Lux
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:2
Num Episodes:18
Producer:Jesse L. Martin
Runtime:42 minutes
Network:NBC
Last Aired:present

The Irrational is an American crime drama television series created by Arika Mittman. It is loosely based on the life of Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist and professor at Duke University, and his 2008 non-fiction book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. The show features Jesse L. Martin in the role of Alec Mercer, a behavioral scientist who, like Ariely, lends his expertise to governments, law enforcement, and corporations to solve complex issues. Co-stars include Molly Kunz as Pheobe, Alec's grad student, and Maahra Hill as Special Agent Marisa Clark.

Season one of The Irrational premiered on September25, 2023, on NBC, and season two began airing a year later, on October8, 2024. With the series' premiere attracting over 3.8 million viewers, it received good reviews from critics and a 5.1/10 rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[1]

Premise

Professor Alec Mercer is a professor of behavioral psychology, whose interests, human irrationality in particular, reflect Ariely’s own work in behavioral economics. Like his prototype, Mercer demonstrates how unconscious biases and emotional impulses influence decision-making, often in ways that defy logical reasoning. Throughout the show, Mercer applies his insights into human nature to help the police and the FBI solve high-stakes criminal cases, including murders, plane crashes, and kidnappings. This echoes Ariely’s real-life role as a consultant to governments and corporations, where he leverages his expertise in behavioral science to address complex societal challenges such as policy-making, health decisions, and fraud detection.Additionally, Mercer's personal backstory, including the life-changing injury that left him physically scarred, mirrors Ariely’s experience of suffering injuries after an explosion–an accident that aroused his interest in understanding the emotional and psychological dimensions of pain and human behavior.[2]

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

Season 2 (2024)

Production

Development

In November 2021, NBC announced it had given a put pilot commitment to The Irrational, and Arika Mittman stepped in as the show's writer and executive producer. So did Mark Goffman, Samuel Baum, David Frankel, and Dan Ariely.[3] In February 2022, The Irrational received a pilot order. In April 2022, it was announced Jesse L. Martin had been cast as the show's lead character, Alec Mercer, and would also serve as a producer for the pilot. It was also announced that the series would be written by Arika Mittman, with Dan Ariely serving as consultant.[4] In September 2022, NBC commissioned a mini-room to produce a couple of backup scripts to go with the well-received pilot.[5] In October 2022, NBC extended its options on the cast, which were due to expire in October, to that December.[6] 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.[7] On November 17, 2023, NBC ordered an extra episode for the series, bringing the first-season order to a total of 11 episodes.[8] On November 29, 2023, NBC renewed the series for a second season.[9]

Casting

In May 2022, it was announced that Maahra Hill would join the cast in a lead role opposite Jesse L. Martin.[10] 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.[11]

Season 2 featured the same actors, along with Ariely himself, who joined the cast as a psychiatric patient.

Filming

Filming of the pilot took place from late May to early June 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia,[10] standing in for Washington, D.C., and the adjoining Virginia area.[12] After seven episodes were filmed, production stopped due to the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.[13] Filming for the second season began on March 11, 2024 and is scheduled to conclude on November 2, 2024.[14]

Release

The Irrational premiered on September 25, 2023, on NBC. It is available to stream on Peacock.[15] The pilot episode of The Irrational then premiered on September 27, 2023, on USA Network.[16] The second season premiered on October 8, 2024 on NBC.[17]

Reception

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."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[19]

Ratings

Notes and References

  1. https://www.thewrap.com/the-irrational-the-voice-nbc-ratings-viewership
  2. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/learned-about-motivation-teenage-burn-victim
  3. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . NBC Nabs 'The Irrational' Drama From Arika Lisanne Mittman Inspired By Dan Ariely's Book As Put Pilot . . November 30, 2021 . June 7, 2023 . April 5, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405200655/https://deadline.com/2021/11/the-irrational-nbc-drama-arika-lisanne-mittman-dan-ariely-mark-goffman-put-pilot-1234882366/ . live .
  4. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . Jesse L. Martin Departs 'The Flash' As Series Regular After 8 Seasons, Will Headline NBC Pilot 'The Irrational' . . April 13, 2022 . June 7, 2023 . April 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220414004526/https://deadline.com/2022/04/jesse-l-martin-exits-the-flash-series-regular-8-seasons-star-the-irrational-nbc-pilot-1235001375/ . live .
  5. Web site: White . Peter . Dean Georgaris' 'Blank Slate' & Arika Mittman's 'The Irrational' Land Pilot Orders At NBC . . September 15, 2023 . February 4, 2022 . September 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230924204618/https://deadline.com/2022/02/dean-georgaris-blank-slate-arika-mittmans-the-irrational-pilot-orders-nbc-1234927110/ . live .
  6. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . NBC Pilot 'The Irrational' Extends Options On Cast Led By Jesse L. Martin . . September 15, 2023 . October 27, 2022 . October 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231003021900/https://deadline.com/2022/10/the-irrational-nbc-pilot-cast-options-extended-jesse-l-martin-1235155933/ . live .
  7. Web site: Petski . Denise . 'The Irrational' Drama Starring Jesse L. Martin Lands NBC Series Order . . September 15, 2023 . December 27, 2022 . August 30, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830001012/https://deadline.com/2022/12/the-irrational-drama-jesse-l-martin-nbc-series-order-1235207247/ . live .
  8. Web site: NBC's 'The Irrational' Gets Extra Episode, 'Lopez vs. Lopez' Order Is Trimmed As Network Finalizes Midseason Schedule. Deadline Hollywood. Nellie. Andreeva. November 17, 2023. November 17, 2023.
  9. Web site: 'Found' & 'The Irrational' Renewed For Season 2 At NBC. Deadline Hollywood. Peter. White. November 29, 2023. November 29, 2023.
  10. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . 'Delilah's Maahra Hill To Star In NBC Pilot 'The Irrational' As OWN Series Has Ended . . September 15, 2023 . May 19, 2022 . April 23, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230423212325/https://deadline.com/2022/05/delilahs-maahra-hill-to-star-in-nbc-pilot-the-irrational-as-own-series-has-ended-1235028679/ . live .
  11. Web site: Petski . Denise . 'The Irrational': Brian King Joins NBC Drama Series As Recurring . . June 7, 2023 . September 15, 2023 . October 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231003021859/https://deadline.com/2023/06/the-irrational-brian-king-nbc-drama-series-recurring-1235411417/ . live .
  12. Web site: Where Does The Irrational Starring Jesse L. Martin Take Place, and Where Did it Film? . Stephanie . Gomulka . 2023-10-03 . . 2023-10-07 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231008054447/https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/undefined . 2023-10-08.
  13. Web site: The Irrational's Next Episode Won't Air for a While — Here's Why . Kimberly . Roots . 2023-11-13 .
  14. Web site: DGC BC Production List. Directors Guild of Canada. October 25, 2024. October 28, 2024. live. https://archive.today/20241028004103/https://www.dgc.ca/en/british-columbia/productions. October 28, 2024.
  15. Web site: Petski . Denise . 'The Irrational' Trailer: 'Law & Order' Alum Jesse L. Martin Is Back To Crime-Solving In NBC Procedural . . September 15, 2023 . August 28, 2023 . September 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230902065511/https://deadline.com/video/the-irrational-trailer-law-and-order-jesse-l-martin-nbc-procedural/ . live .
  16. Web site: The Irrational on USA Network. USA Network. October 9, 2023. September 28, 2023. https://usanetwork.com/the-irrational. live.
  17. Web site: The Irrational Among Fall TV Premieres Delayed by Vice Presidential Debate. TVLine. Ryan. Schwartz. Matt Webb. Mitovich. August 20, 2024. August 20, 2024.
  18. the_irrational. The Irrational. tv. 1. November 14, 2023. y.
  19. the-irrational. The Irrational. tv. 1. September 26, 2023. y.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Irrational".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.