The Irrational

TV Series
2023–
TV-14

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

5.5K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:35

Alec Mercer is a world-renowned behavioral scientist who lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement and corporations with his unique and unex... Read allAlec Mercer is a world-renowned behavioral scientist who lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement and corporations with his unique and unexpected approach to understanding human behavior.Alec Mercer is a world-renowned behavioral scientist who lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement and corporations with his unique and unexpected approach to understanding human behavior.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

5.5K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

866

230

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Episodes24

Browse episodes

TopTop-rated2 seasons3 years

More like this

6.8

7.0

7.1

7.6

7.7

7.6

6.8

Murder in a Small Town

7.7

Will Trent

9.6

A Triangle in Time

7.0

Wild Cards

9.4

Outlander from Book to Screen: Discovering the Differences

7.1

FBI

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
The main character, Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin) is based on the real-life Duke University psychology and behavioral economics professor Dan Ariely. Part of Ariely's fame has come from his research into the psychological principles behind dishonesty, including in his book The Honest Truth about Dishonesty, a documentary, (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies, and many academic papers. However, in 2021, a 2012 paper coauthored by Ariely and several others and purporting to study issues of dishonesty was itself retracted due to evidence that the data in it was falsified. The second episode of "The Irrational" nods to and then dismisses this controversy: a crusading investigative reporter who had previously been skeptical of Mercer's methodology (formerly calling it "pop culture junk science") comes to him for help, explaining that when she further investigated his work, she found it "unimpeachable."

Quotes
Alec Mercer: Memory is the greatest con man of human nature.

User reviews72

Review

Featured review

5/10

Trite, hackneyed, warmed-over rehash of staid memes

Too many tropes in this show to enumerate. There's the brilliant college proffessor who does this crime-fighting thing as a sideline. Of course he has a dark past with some damage, in this rare case visible to the naked eye. He drives an oddball car that stands out. He is well respected by his (naturally) ex-wife and students, but not so much by other professionals in various disciplines. And on, and on, and on.

This thing is kinda predictable, like a not-well-written Columbo episode with the clowns all dropping their hints flat on the floor in front of the audience -- and the coppers. I don't think I'll have the patience to struggle through another episode of this show. The first one was enough to turn me away.

Conclusion: not terrible, but not good either. I just don't have the time in my limited entertainment budget to waste on bland pate like this.