The Irrational

Last updated
The Irrational
The Irrational (NBC television series logo).svg
Genre
Created byArika Mittman
Based on Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely
Starring
Composer Danny Lux
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes17
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJesse L. Martin
Running time42 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 25, 2023 (2023-09-25) 
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 . [1] 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.

Contents

Season one of The Irrational premiered on September 25, 2023, on NBC, and season two began airing a year later, on October 8, 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. [2]

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 helpcooperates with the police and the FBI solve high-stake 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. [3]

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 11September 25, 2023 (2023-09-25)February 19, 2024 (2024-02-19)
2 TBAOctober 8, 2024 (2024-10-08)TBA

Season 1 (2023–24)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
Rating/share
(18-49)
11"Pilot" David Frankel Arika Lisanne MittmanSeptember 25, 2023 (2023-09-25)3.81 [4] 0.34/3 [4]
22"Dead Woman Walking" Jesse Warn Arika Lisanne MittmanOctober 2, 2023 (2023-10-02)3.98 [5] 0.29/3 [5]
33"The Barnum Effect" John Terlesky Mark Goffman October 9, 2023 (2023-10-09)3.94 [6] 0.31/3 [6]
44"Zero Sum" Janice Cooke Robert Hewitt Wolfe October 16, 2023 (2023-10-16)3.50 [7] 0.24/2 [7]
55"Lucky Charms" Amanda Tapping Lydia TefferaOctober 23, 2023 (2023-10-23)3.73 [8] 0.29/3 [8]
66"Point and Shoot" Ernest Dickerson Teleplay by: Kirk Moore
Story by: Kirk Moore & Jordan Rosenberg
October 30, 2023 (2023-10-30)3.54 [9] 0.27/3 [9]
77"The Real Deal"Jesse WarnMira Z. BarnumNovember 6, 2023 (2023-11-06)3.74 [10] 0.28/3 [10]
88"Scorched Earth"Maja VrviloJordan RosenbergJanuary 29, 2024 (2024-01-29)3.18 [11] 0.28/3 [11]
99"Cheating Life"Carl SeatonJordan Rosenberg & Mira Z. BarnumFebruary 5, 2024 (2024-02-05)3.30 [12] 0.26/3 [12]
1010"Bombshell"Jesse WarnMark Goffman & Robert Hewitt WolfeFebruary 12, 2024 (2024-02-12)2.60 [13] 0.19/2 [13]
1111"Reciprocity"Ernest DickersonArika Lisanne MittmanFebruary 19, 2024 (2024-02-19)2.42 [14] 0.18/2 [14]

Season 2 (2024)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title [15] Directed byWritten by [16] Original air date [15] U.S. viewers
(millions)
Rating/share
(18-49)
121"Collateral Damage" John Terlesky Arika Lisanne MittmanOctober 8, 2024 (2024-10-08)3.09 [17] 0.31/4 [17]
132"A Kick in the Teeth" Ernest Dickerson Lydia TefferaOctober 15, 2024 (2024-10-15)2.63 [18] 0.26/3 [18]
143"Bad Blood"Jeff W. Byrd Mark Goffman & Robert Hewitt Wolfe & Jojo S. WrightOctober 22, 2024 (2024-10-22)2.41 [19] 0.19/3 [19]
154"Formal Ties" Jesse Warn Katie WechOctober 29, 2024 (2024-10-29)2.29 [20] 0.19/2 [20]
165"Anatomy of a Fall"Darnell MartinMira Z. BarnumNovember 12, 2024 (2024-11-12)2.19 [21] 0.17/2 [21]
176"The Wrong Side of Maybe" Holly Dale Jordan Rosenberg November 26, 2024 (2024-11-26)2.41 [22] 0.19/3 [22]
187"Stan by Me"TBAKirk MooreDecember 3, 2024 (2024-12-03)TBDTBA

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. [1] So did Mark Goffman, Samuel Baum, David Frankel, and Dan Ariely. [1] 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. [23] In September 2022, NBC commissioned a mini-room to produce a couple of backup scripts to go with the well-received pilot. [24] In October 2022, NBC extended its options on the cast, which were due to expire in October, to that December. [25] 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. [26] On November 17, 2023, NBC ordered an extra episode for the series, bringing the first-season order to a total of 11 episodes. [27] On November 29, 2023, NBC renewed the series for a second season. [28]

Casting

In May 2022, it was announced that Maahra Hill would join the cast in a lead role opposite Jesse L. Martin. [29] 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. [30]

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, [29] standing in for Washington, D.C., and the adjoining Virginia area. [31] After seven episodes were filmed, production stopped due to the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. [32] Filming for the second season began on March 11, 2024 and is scheduled to conclude on November 2, 2024. [33]

Release

The Irrational premiered on September 25, 2023, on NBC. It is available to stream on Peacock. [34] The pilot episode of The Irrational then premiered on September 27, 2023, on USA Network. [35] The second season premiered on October 8, 2024 on NBC. [36]

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." [37] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [38]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of The Irrational
SeasonTimeslot (ET)EpisodesFirst airedLast airedTV seasonViewership
rank
Avg. viewers
(millions)
18–49
rank
Avg. 18–49
rating
DateViewers
(millions)
DateViewers
(millions)
1 Monday 10:00 p.m.23September 25, 2023 (2023-09-25)3.81 [4] February 19, 2024 (2024-02-19)2.42 [14] 2023–24 TBDTBDTBDTBD
2 Tuesday 10:00 p.m. [15] TBAOctober 8, 2024 (2024-10-08)3.09 [17] TBATBD 2024–25 TBDTBDTBDTBD

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