Simon Baker STUNS the Entire Industry With This Bombshell Revelation!

The Mentalist’s Surprise Revival

After all seven seasons arrived on Netflix in 2026, The Mentalist found a new audience. According to the recap, viewers streamed 663 million hours of the series in four months, with especially strong audiences in Brazil, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Türkiye.

TikTok edits introduced younger viewers to Patrick Jane’s cool, composed style—dubbed “aura cultivation”—while the show’s familiar cases offered comfort viewing for longtime fans.

Cast Reflections

Simon Baker

Simon Baker, who played Patrick Jane, says he didn’t know the show was popular on TikTok. The recap also reveals that the creators once considered making Jane himself Red John, but the studio rejected the idea.

Asked whether he would return to the role, Baker says he wouldn’t. He prefers to find out what comes next, though he’s glad the show has found a new audience.

Robin Tunney

Robin Tunney, who played Teresa Lisbon, jokes that she’s happy people are watching on Netflix because her children go to private school—and adds, “I want the check.”

She recalls shaving her head to keep a role in Empire Records and jokes that standing beside the gorgeous Baker for seven years made her easy to overlook. Off-screen, she even took her children to visit him in Australia.

Owain Yeoman

Owain Yeoman, who played Wayne Rigsby, shares a funny story about landing Troy: he arrived late to a meeting and was then told to grow his hair and beard.

Yeoman also admits he asked for Rigsby to be killed off, thinking it would make for a more exciting exit. The producers chose to protect the beloved character instead. Years later, Yeoman and Tim Kang reunited for the podcast The TV Police, where they revisit episodes and laugh about filming mistakes.

Tim Kang

Tim Kang, who played Kimball Cho, explains that Cho’s original backstory was much more family-oriented before it was changed.

Kang’s real-life focus was just as intense: he once accidentally sold 500 shares while mentally rehearsing a monologue. He also remembers leaving a shoot to be present for his daughter’s birth.

Cho’s deadpan delivery gets its own spotlight in the tiny-stakes exchange:

“How much do you want to bet?” “Thirty cents.” “Thirty-five cents.”

Amanda Righetti

Amanda Righetti, who played Grace Van Pelt, recalls being sure she’d ruined her audition before she got the part. She also remembers Tunney supporting her during a secret pregnancy by throwing her a baby shower.

After several years without work, Righetti joined Scarpetta. She and Baker are technically on the same show, though their characters barely cross paths.

The Show’s Legacy

The recap revisits the series’ origins, Red John’s eventual identity—Sheriff Thomas McAllister—and the finale, in which Jane and Lisbon marry.

The cast still feels affection for the series, but Yeoman says a reunion would need a real story behind it, not just nostalgia. The show may be back in viewers’ lives, but Baker is clear: he isn’t planning to return as Patrick Jane.

Personalities Featured or Discussed

Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Owain Yeoman, Tim Kang, Amanda Righetti, Bruno Heller, Xander Berkeley, and Robert Downey Jr.