Synopsis
Why does Patrick Jane cooperate with the CBI?
The Mentalist
The series follows Patrick Jane, an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) based in Sacramento, California. Although not an officer of the law, he uses skills from his former career as a successful yet admittedly fraudulent psychic medium to help a team of CBI agents solve murders. The ultimate goal of Patrick Jane in his cooperation with the CBI is to track down the killer known as "Red John," who was responsible for the brutal murders of his wife and daughter. Jane formerly had a lucrative career as a con man, successfully posing as a psychic medium and enjoying near-celebrity status. Five years before the events in the show's pilot episode, he appeared on television to claim that his paranormal abilities helped the police profile a serial killer named Red John. Red John, angered by the perceived slight, murdered Jane's wife and young daughter in revenge. Jane subsequently abandoned his job as a psychic and teamed with the CBI, using his skills to help them solve various crimes. His main focus is on the cases involving Red John or Red John copycats. He admits to faking the supernatural aspects of his skills, often asserting that "there's no such thing as psychics," yet he has finely honed skills in cold reading, hypnosis, and pickpocketing, as well as powerful observational skill and a deep insight into the human psyche and behavior. His last act at CBI was to finally find Red John and kill him. After spending two years off the grid, Jane cut a deal with the FBI to work for them, bringing with him former CBI Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon, the only person who seems to be able to keep Jane's theatrics and lack of boundaries under control. Jane and Lisbon work with their former fellow CBI agent Kimball Cho, FBI Agent Kim Fischer, are supervised by the no-nonsense Agent Dennis Abbott and are now based in Austin, Texas. The rest of the former CBI team, Wayne Rigsby and Grace Van Pelt, have started their own security firm, but keep in touch with their former colleagues.