Patrick Jane will be solving his final case on CBS next year.
After seven seasons, the charming crime-solver will hang up his vest on the network. Though the show’s pending demise has been widely speculated, CBS officially confirmed for the first time that the show’s upcoming episodes will mark the drama’s final outing — and it will be a shortened 13-episode season.
But there is some good news: The Mentalist is returning sooner than you think. CBS also announced the seventh season will premiere later this month — Sunday, Nov. 30 at 9 p.m., taking over the slot (temporarily) from The Good Wife. New Mentalist episodes will air for five weeks through December. When The Good Wife returns on Jan. 4 to the slot, Mentalist will shift to a new time slot — Wednesdays at 8 p.m., where it will air until a two-hour final on Feb. 18.
There is also a chance Mentalist studio Warner Bros. could shop the show around to other broadcast or cable networks. A popular crime show is pretty easily transferable from one network to another. Medium and Southland are a couple examples of shows that made a switch late in their runs. TNT airs The Mentalist repeats and rescued Southland. But sources close to the show say its too early, to delve into this prospect. At the very least, a prospective buyer would want to see a sizable sampling of the final season’s ratings before making a decision (the sixth season averaged 11.5 million viewers and a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating including DVR).
CBS will also launch the sixth season of Undercover Boss with three special Sunday telecasts in December, before it moves to its regular Friday slot on Jan. 2.
“One of the goals this season was to keep expanding our lineup of year-round, original programming and have fewer repeat cycles,” said Kelly Kahl, senior executive vice president, CBS. “We’re fortunate to have two popular, proven ratings winners in The Mentalist and Undercover Boss to seamlessly join our schedule.”
