EXCLUSIVE: NBC has opted not to renew sophomore drama series The Irrational for a third season.
The news is not entirely surprising. After a promising freshman run, the crime drama starring Jesse L. Martin fell off significantly in the ratings during its second season with comparable lead-ins, The Voice on Monday in Season 1 and The Voice on Tuesday in Season 2.
The TV landscape was different in the two seasons though. Launching as strike contingency in fall 2023 amid a dearth of scripted originals on the broadcast networks because of the writers work stoppage, The Irrational took advantage of the lesser competition and a potent lead-in to start off well on NBC as well as Peacock. The series’ premiere tallied 12.1M viewers across all NBCU platforms in its first 15 days. By late November, the series had earned a Season 2 renewal.
Facing a fully stacked playing field in Season 2, The Irrational found it difficult to keep up with its initial performance, posting significant year-to-year declines.
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Likely because of that, with so many NBC series on the bubble this season and renewal decisions coming down to the wire as the network has to make room for about 180 hours of expensive primetime NBA programming next season, The Irrational’s fate was pretty much sealed weeks ago.
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Still, it was a tough call as Martin is a beloved star at NBC where he previously starred on Law & Order.
Canceled alongside The Irrational today were NBC’s drama Suits LA and Found and comedies Night Court and Lopez vs Lopez.
The Irrational, based on Dan Ariely’s book Predictably Irrational, follows world-renowned professor of behavioral science Alec Mercer (Martin), as he lends his unique expertise on an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement and corporations. His insight and unconventional approach to understanding human behavior lead him and the team on a series of intense, unexpected journeys to solve illogical puzzles and perplexing mysteries.
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The cast of the series, which ended its Season 2 run in March, also includes Maahra Hill, Travina Springer, Molly Kunz, and Arash DeMaxi.
Arika Lisanne Mittman served as showrunner and exec produced alongside Mark Goffman, Sam Baum and David Frankel. Universal Television, part of Universal Studio Group, was the studio.
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