The Irrational (Seasons 1–2)

The Irrational (2023) is an NBC crime drama you can watch online on iFILM, loosely sparked by Dan Ariely's bestseller on behavioral economics. Jesse L. Martin stars as Alec Mercer, a psychology professor who cracks cases through the science of why people deceive themselves and everyone around them.

Mercer reads motive in micro-expressions, habits and the blind spots of human judgment, which is why governments, corporations and the police all come knocking. Most episodes solve a standalone case, but a longer thread runs underneath: a church bombing years ago left him scarred and chasing answers nobody will give him. His FBI-agent ex-wife and a small crew of grad students help test his theories in the field. It's a good fit for anyone tired of detectives who just "have a hunch" — here the solution is built from psychology, not a lucky guess. Stream The Irrational (2023) online on iFILM.