TNT Gets Off-Network Syndication Rights To The Mentalist

TNT has bought the off-network syndication to The Mentalist. According to the deal between TNT and Warner Brothers Domestic TV Distribution, The Mentalist will begin running weekly on the cable network in fall 2011, followed by a full-blown launch in 2012. Neither side would discuss the financials of the deal, but the Simon Baker starrer is said to have fetched from $2.2 million-$2.3 million an episode. Created by Bruno Heller, The Mentalist stars Baker as an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation who solves crimes using razor-sharp observation skills. The Mentalist launched as the top new series of the 2008-09 season and has been a solid ratings performer this fall in its new 10:00 PM/ET Thursday timeslot.

With its light tone and quirky central character, The Mentalist had been considered a good fit for USA, which is said to have been interested but ultimately went aggressively after NCIS: LA to complete its NCIS off-network franchise. The Mentalist also might have been considered too similar to USA’s original series Psych. On TNT, a corporate sibling of the show’s producer Warner Brothers TV, The Mentalist will join a slate of off-network procedurals that includes Law and Order, Bones and fellow CBS series Without a Trace, Cold Case and Numbers. TNT has been an active buyer lately, also acquiring the WBTV-produced cop drama Southland after it was canceled by NBC.