The Irrational

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 life of Dan Ariely and on his 2008 non-fiction book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. In November 2023, the series was renewed for a second season which is set to premiere on October 1, 2024.

Premise
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.

Main

 * Jesse L. Martin as Professor Alec Mercer, a world-renowned expert in behavioral science
 * Maahra Hill as Special Agent Marisa Clark, an FBI agent and Alec's ex-wife
 * Arash DeMaxi as Rizwan, Alec's newest grad student
 * Molly Kunz as Phoebe, Alec's grad student assistant
 * Travina Springer as Kylie, Alec's younger sister

Recurring

 * Brian King as Special Agent Jace Richards, an FBI agent and Marisa's new boyfriend
 * Karen David as Rose Dinshaw, a crisis management professional, and Alec's new girlfriend
 * Ben Cotton as Wes Banning, a criminal convicted of the bombing that injured Alec

Development
In November 2021, it was announced NBC had given a put pilot commitment to The Irrational, created by Arika Mittman and inspired by the life of Dan Ariely as well as by his 2008 book Predictably Irrational. In February 2022, it 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. In September 2022, NBC commissioned a mini-room to produce a couple of backup scripts to go with the well-received pilot. In October 2022, NBC extended its options on the cast, which were due to expire in October, to that December. 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. On November 17, 2023, NBC ordered an extra episode for the series, bringing the first-season order to a total of 11 episodes. On November 29, 2023, NBC renewed the series for a second season.

Casting
In May 2022, it was announced that Maahra Hill would be joining the cast in a lead role opposite Jesse L. Martin. 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.

Filming
Filming of the pilot took place from late May to early June 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, standing in for Washington, D.C. and the adjoining Virginia area. After seven episodes were filmed, production stopped due to the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Filming for the second season began on March 11, 2024 and is scheduled to conclude on October 31, 2024.

Release
The Irrational premiered on September 25, 2023, on NBC. It is available to stream on Peacock. The pilot episode of The Irrational then premiered on September 27, 2023, on USA Network. The second season is scheduled to premiere on October 1, 2024 on NBC.

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