Why The Mentalist Ended After 7 Seasons - Was It Canceled?

After a successful run of seven seasons beginning in 2008, "The Mentalist" came to an end in 2015, much to the disappointment of the show's die-hard fans. The CBS procedural attracted a significant following thanks to its psychological thriller spin on the crime show genre, as well as its engaging story centered on the highly intuitive consultant Patrick Jane (Simon Baker). 

"The Mentalist" earned near-universal approval from general audiences, though its reviews from critics were more mixed. Still, the series posted high ratings from the get go, recording an average of 17.5 million weekly viewers for Season 1. Viewership numbers for Season 2 through Season 4 remained at around 15 million, but the show's ratings began to drop off after that.

"The Mentalist" Season 5 averaged 11.8 million viewers, and that figure dropped to 11.2 million a season later. Season 7 managed to reach an average of 11.8 million, but the small increase wasn't enough to rescue "The Mentalist" from cancellation. Ultimately, CBS decided to conclude the show with its seventh season due to its plunging ratings that never recovered. 

It didn't matter much in the end, but "The Mentalist" actually made some big changes to its story in Season 6 in an attempt to reinvigorate its viewership, with Patrick Jane moving from California to Texas to work with the FBI. The sixth season wrapped up Jane's longstanding pursuit of Red John, the serial killer who murdered his wife and daughter. According to executive producer Tom Szentgyorgyi, Warner Bros. TV big wig Peter Roth believed the Red John storyline had grown stale.

"He called us in at the end of Season 5 and told us he didn't think the Red John story was sustaining," Szentgyorgyi told Deadline, recounting a meeting that he and creator Bruno Heller had with Roth. "He felt that if we wanted to continue past Season 6, we were going to have to close out the Red John arc and reinvent the show. After gulping, Bruno and I realized Peter was absolutely right, and we started plotting out a conclusion to the Red John story about a third of the way through Season 6." Red John was revealed to be Sheriff Thomas McAllister, played by Xander Berkeley.

When Season 7 was announced, it came with confirmation that it would be the final season of "The Mentalist." It was a sad day for fans, but at least they got to see a fully planned-out ending instead of enduring the pain of an abrupt cancellation. This was the least the people involved with the series deserved — after all, shows like "The Mentalist" don't come along every day. Today, it's remembered as one of the standout TV series of the late 2000s/early 2010s, and if you haven't seen it yet, all seasons of "The Mentalist" are currently available to stream on Hulu.