Psych and Mentalist Both Psychic Detective Shows

Creator and Actor of USA Series Psych Talk About The Mentalist

Nov 1, 2009

Steve Franks creator of the USA Network series Psych and star Dule Hill recently commented on The Mentalist, a CBS series. Each show is about a fake psychic detective.

The USA network series Psych, starring James Roday And Dule Hill as fake psychic detectives has recently aired its season three finale. Psych will return for its fourth season in the winter of 2010. Series creator Steve Franks and Psych star Dule Hill recently took part in a conference call interview session with writers and editors.

Viewers may have noticed that the premise of USA Network's Psych is similar the to the premise of the CBS series The Mentalist, which stars Simon Baker. Mentalist may seem like the glitzier and more sophisticated big brother to Psych, but Psych came out first. The script of Psych often includes good humored references to Mentalist.

In USA Network's Psych, James Roday portrays Shawn Spencer, a slacker type Californian who did not follow his father's (Corbin Bernsen) footsteps into the Santa Barbara Police Department. His father honed Shawn's skills of observation when he was still a child. Shawn uses his acute observations, but pretends that he is getting psychic vibes to help solve crimes for the police department. Dule Hill portrays Burton 'Gus' Guster, Shawn's childhood friend and often reluctant sidekick. Psych is light hearted fare, often a bit silly and just plain fun to watch. Psych debuted in 2006.

The Mentalist stars Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, a fake psychic detective who is a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Although Jane is a man with some charm and humor, the series has a darker and more sinister tone than Psych. Part of the darkness comes from Jane's backstory, which includes a mysteriously murdered wife. The Mentalist was released in September, 2008.

In the recent interview with Psych series creator Steve Franks and series star Dule Hill, they were asked how they felt about The Mentalist.

The Mentalist is so similar to Psych What was your initial reaction to that?

Steve Franks: For me, I guess it is the sincerest form of flattery, you know. There is not really anything you can do about it, but we like to take every opportunity we can to sort of play with it and have fun with it. There will be a Mentalist reference in this Friday's episode and probably a lot more in the winter season.

Dule Hill: I would agree with Steve. I mean, it is not like that show is taking away our audience or we have taken away from their audience. There is room for both of us on the air. I this it is great there are actors who have work to do. There is more television that is being made that is not a late night talk show. I think it is a great thing. I mean on our show we like to have a lot of fun anyway, so as long as they can take us ribbing them every once in a while I think it is all good.

There is room for both fake psychic detective series on television. Psych airs on Friday nights at 10:00 PM on USA Network. The Mentalist airs on Thursday nights at 9:00 PM ET on CBS.

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