The characters from the American police procedural television series The Mentalist were created by Bruno Heller. The Mentalist debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS and follows Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) based in Sacramento, California. He has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his refined skills of observation. Jane also makes frequent use of his mentalist abilities and his semi-celebrity past as a psychic medium using the paranormal abilities he now admits he feigned. He abandoned his pretense out of remorse when his attention-seeking behavior attracted the attention of a serial killer, Red John, who murdered Jane's wife and daughter.
Main characters
Simon Baker as consultant Patrick Jane—the show's protagonist and the titular mentalist. Jane spent his childhood in traveling carnivals with his mean-spirited con-man father who taught him to see all outsiders as marks. After meeting his wife, Angela Ruskin, who was also a carny, the pair left carnival life. Honing the skills his father taught him, Jane became a successful psychic and medium. After using his "psychic" skills to demeaningly describe serial killer Red John on television, which resulted in the murders of Angela and their daughter Charlotte Jane, Patrick works as a criminal consultant for CBI and later (season 6) for the FBI. He has developed close friendships with his colleagues, especially his boss, Senior Special Agent Teresa Lisbon. He is driven by inconsolable remorse over the deaths of his wife and daughter, and while he usually presents a jocular, teasing face, he shows his darker side when dealing with his nemesis. At those times, Jane becomes intense, focused, and willing to go to great lengths to capture and even kill him. He owns a classic French car, a robin's egg blue Citroën DS, and is an avid tea drinker. He marries Teresa Lisbon in the series finale, "White Orchids". Robin Tunney as Special Agent in Charge/Special Agent Teresa Lisbon—formerly special agent in charge with the CBI and leader of the Serious Crime Unit, now (as of season 6) a special agent with the FBI. Though Jane often annoys her with his unusual behavior, she views him as a valuable member of the team. Likewise, she is the only member of the team Jane trusts with details of his past. Lisbon's mother was killed in a drunk driving crash, leaving her to care for her brothers and her abusive, alcoholic father. Her team was responsible for the Red John case, although the responsibility for catching Red John was taken over briefly by Sam Bosco, her mentor when she was a junior agent, until he and his team were murdered by one of Red John's operatives. She marries Patrick Jane in the series finale, "White Orchids" and it's revealed they are expecting their first child. Tim Kang as Special Agent Kimball Cho—formerly a special agent with the CBI and a member of Lisbon's Serious Crime Unit, now (as of season 6) a Special Agent with the FBI. Cho has a dry, deadpan sense of humor and is good friends with his partner on Lisbon's team, Special Agent Wayne Rigsby. He is often the one who sees through Patrick's parlor tricks. Although he was secretly called Ernie by the Bosco team (who also refer to Rigsby as Bert), Cho claims not to mind as "Ernie's the clever, handsome one". He was a member of a street gang, the Avon Park Playboys, which garnered him a juvenile, though sealed, record and time in juvenile hall. He enlisted in the Army, serving in Special Forces, before becoming a police officer. Because of his difficult childhood, Cho often tries to befriend young people who have committed crimes but are not yet lost causes. In Season 7, Cho is promoted to supervisory agent due to Abbott's transfer to Washington with his wife. In the following episode, he holds a dying Vega in his arms as she dies from a bullet wound. Owain Yeoman as Special Agent Wayne Rigsby—formerly a special agent with the CBI and a member of Lisbon's Serious Crime Unit, now (as of season 6) co-head of a private security firm with Van Pelt. Rigsby serves as the team's arson specialist, leaning on his two years as a San Diego arson investigator. Rigsby is good friends with his partner Cho and has developed romantic feelings for another team member, Grace Van Pelt. Although against regulations, the two began seeing each other secretly. Although the pair later ended the relationship, after it became public, to protect both of their careers, they remain close friends. Rigsby has had to endure various professional and personal difficulties as a result of the actions of his father, a former career criminal involved in a notorious biker gang.