The crime drama The Mentalist is seeing a significant surge in global viewership on Netflix and Amazon VOD.. This revival is lagely attributed to the recent success of lead actor Simon Baker in the Prime Video series Scarpetta.
The 22nd spot on Amazon VOD's Top 25
In the United States, The Mentalist has climbed to become the 22nd most-watched television show on Amazon VOD's Top 25 list. According to the report, the series has seen a steady rise in the rankings, recently surpassing a diverse array of content including the animated series Bluey, the classic Anne of Green Gables, and historical programming featuring Tom Hanks.
Despite this momentum, The Mentalist faces heavy competition from modern streaming giants. The show is currently vying for attention against Taylor Sheridan's latest hits, Lioness and Landman, as well as Marvel's The Punisher, which remain dominant forces on the charts.
How Simon Baker's role as Benton Wesley sparked a revival
The renewed interest in The Mentalist appears directly linked to Simon Baker's return to the crime thriller genre. Baker stars as Benton Wesley in Scarpetta, a high-profile adaptation of a long-running novel series on Prime Video. As reported, Scarpetta became the most-watched worldwide release for Prime Video shortly after its debut in March.
The synergy between the two shows is rooted in character archetypes. baker's new role as an FBI profiler in Scarpetta mirrors the intellectual and investigative nature of Patrick Jane, the fake psychic and CBI consultant he played in The Mentalist. This similarity has encouraged fans of the original series to revisit the 2008 CBS classic .
The reunion of Amanda Righetti and Pedro Pascal
Beyond Simon Baker, Scarpetta features several ties to the original cast of The Mentalist that have fueled nostalgia. Amanda Righetti, who portrayed Grace Van Pelt in The Mentalist, appears in Scarpetta as a young Dorothy Scarpetta alongside Jamie Lee Curtis.
Additionally, the presence of Pedro Pascal in Scarpetta serves as another draw for returning viewers. Pascal previously appeared in The Mentalist as the character Marcus Pike, creating a "perfect storm" of talent that bridges the gap between the legacy procedural and the new adaptation.
The enduring appeal of CBS-era procedurals like Criminal Minds
The resurgence of The Mentalist is part of a broader trend where legacy network dramas find second lives on digital platforms. Procedurals such as Criminal Minds and The Blacklist have already demonstrated a massive streaming appetite for long-running crime narratives. This trend is further bolstered by new high-stakes releases like I Will Find You, Cross, and The Chestnut Man, which continue to dominate Netflix viewership.
The original architecture of The Mentalist,crafted by Bruno Heller—who later developed the Batman prequel Gotham—relied on a compelling quest for vengeance against the serial killer Red John. This character-driven mystery has proven to be timeless, transcending the original broadcast era to attract a new generation of binge-watchers.
The regional gaps in Netflix's 28-country trend
While the show is trending in 28 different countries on Netflix according to FlixPatrol, several questions remain regarding its global availability . The report notes that The Mentalist is not available nationwide in every region, leaving it unclear which specfiic territories are currently excluded from this revival.
It remains to be seen if the streaming platforms will expand the show's availability to capitalize on the Scarpetta momentum, or if the current trend is limited to regions where the licensing agreements are already in place. Furthermore, the source does not specify if the viewership spike is concentrated among returning fans or new viewers discovering the series for the first time.
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