In the opening minutes of The Irrational, psychology professor Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin) talks a man down from holding a woman and baby hostage, delivers a riveting lecture on the first day of class and (kind of) takes credit for the Rams winning the Super Bowl. NBC's newest crime series might have a familiar premise, but Martin's delivery elevates it to something really special.
Mercer is haunted by events from his past; as he explains in his lecture, he was burned in a fire years ago and it was during his recovery that he observed his nurses and how they decided that ripping off his bandages was the best way to remove them daily despite the pain it caused him. "I became deeply intrigued by this idea that we repeatedly and predictably make the wrong decisions in our lives and research could help change these patterns," Professor Mercer tells his class.
His research on the fallibility of memory is what makes him such a successful consultant for the police and the FBI. Mercer's estranged wife, Marisa (Maahra Hill), works for the FBI and she relies on Mercer's unique expertise to help solve tricky cases. Mercer's sister, Kylie (Travina Springer), is his roommate and sounding board while Mercer's research assistants, Phoebe (Molly Kunz) and Rizwan (Arash Demaxi), provide support, comic relief and hero worship.
The Irrational follows the same formula as other police consultant procedurals. In fact, there are elements to the setup that are reminiscent of Alan Cumming's Instinct, which also featured a charismatic professor with a knack for identifying serial killers. Martin's Mercer has the swagger of Tom Ellis in Lucifer (check out his car) with a dash of Tom Payne's quietly eccentric Malcolm Bright from Prodigal Son.
In the series premiere, Mercer works on a case at the behest of the mayor, who wants to know if Dylan Hayes (Caleb Ruminer), the son of a senator and a highly respected former Marine and war hero, killed his ex-girlfriend Jasmine Curtland (Soma Chhaya), a beauty influencer with a massive social media following.
The mayor has known Dylan his whole life and can't believe that he'd ever do such a thing. Though Dylan had some issues with PTSD and turned to drinking as a coping mechanism, he'd been attending AA meetings and that's where he met Jasmine. Mercer agrees to take the case, provided that the mayor promises he will be prosecuted if he's guilty.
Complicating the case is the fact Dylan confesses to the murder. During his questioning, he freely admits he killed Jasmine but he's unable to explain why or how it happened even though he can recall all kinds of events from the evening he'd spent with her. This piques Mercer's interest; he cites studies where individuals have been coerced into believing that an event happened in their lives even though it hadn't.
Watching Mercer and his team work through the clues is entertaining and compelling. Martin excels in bringing a cool confidence to Mercer; it's impossible to tell that underneath all of his self-assuredness is a man who's desperate to understand what really happened to him in that fire. We see him offer different explanations about the fire throughout the episode, each one tailored to the situation, because at the end of the day he has no memory of what happened and the lack of answers has plagued him for years.
The Irrational isn't anything fans of police procedurals haven't seen before, but the cohesion of the cast and the quality of their performances make it worth watching.
The Irrational airs Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT on NBC following The Voice season 24. Episodes are then available to watch on-demand on Peacock.
