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. 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.
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 mixed reviews from critics and a 5.1/10 rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In May 2025, the series was canceled after two seasons. The final episode aired with a cliffhanger on March 25, 2025.
Contents
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 help the police and the FBI solve high-stakes criminal cases, including murders, plane crashes, and kidnappings. It 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.
Cast and characters
Main
Jesse L. Martin as Professor Alec Mercer, an expert in behavioral science
Maahra Hill as Special Agent Marisa Clark, an FBI agent and Alec's ex-wife
Arash DeMaxi as Rizwan Asadi, Alec's newest grad student
Molly Kunz as Phoebe Duncan, Alec's grad student assistant
Travina Springer as Kylie Mercer, Alec's younger sister and new FBI cyber analyst
Recurring
Brian King as Special Agent Jace Richards (season 1), an FBI agent and Marisa's new boyfriend
Karen David as Rose Dinshaw, a crisis management professional, and Alec's new girlfriend
Ben Cotton as Wes Banning (season 1), a criminal convicted of the bombing that injured Alec
Max Lloyd-Jones as Simon Wylton (season 2), a new grad student research assistant who replaces Phoebe, and the son of the Dean of Wylton Institute
Geoff Stults as Shel Benson (season 2)
Episodes
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. So did Mark Goffman, Samuel Baum, David Frankel, and Dan Ariely. 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. In September 2022, NBC commissioned a mini-room to produce a couple of backup scripts to go with the well-received pilot. In October 2022, NBC extended its options on the cast, which were due to expire in October, to that December. 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. On November 17, 2023, NBC ordered an extra episode for the series, bringing the first-season order to a total of 11 episodes. On November 29, 2023, NBC renewed the series for a second season. On May 9, 2025, NBC canceled the series after two seasons.
Casting
In May 2022, it was announced that Maahra Hill would join the cast in a lead role opposite Martin. 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.
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, Canada, standing in for Washington, D.C. and the adjoining Virginia area. After seven episodes were filmed, production stopped due to the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Filming for the second season began on March 11, 2024 and concluded on November 2, 2024.
Release
The Irrational premiered on September 25, 2023, on NBC. It is available to stream on Peacock. The pilot episode of The Irrational then premiered on September 27, 2023, on USA Network. The second season premiered on October 8, 2024 on NBC.
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 Martin's shrewd presence makes even the utterly conventional pretty watchable." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".