While still popular today, crime procedurals dominated the network television landscape in the 2000s and 2010s. Everything from NCIS and its many spinoffs to the comedic Brooklyn Nine-Nine became years-long successes with massive audiences.

As both the procedural style and general TV demand exploded during what is largely considered the golden age of television, the procedural format saw new innovation. After The X-Files popularized the “monster-of-the-week” format in the ’90s, procedurals continued to expand into surprising genres.

HBO’s Six Feet Under took the procedural format and applied it to, of all things, the funeral home business. It had such success that its finale is widely believed to be the best of all time. Later, the medical drama House took on a distinct detective mystery flair and saw success for eight seasons. Yet demand never faded for traditional, crime-based weekly stories.

Even so, this same demand forced the best police procedurals to seek out unique characters that allowed them to stand out from the pack. Lie to Me, which premiered in 2009, is one such procedural.

Lie To Me Was A Fresh Take On The Crime Procedural Format

This Tim Roth crime drama took a more scientific approach to its crime-solving tactics, allowing it to move away from the saturated setting of a police department. Instead, the show focused on The Lightman Group, an organization specializing in the science of microexpressions: brief, involuntary facial movements that, when studied, can indicate whether a person is lying.

Frequent consultants for law enforcement, The Lightman Group used their work to solve crimes, but not before turning the case upside down because “the question is never simply if someone is lying. It’s why.” Led by Roth’s Cal Lightman, Lie to Me‘s characters were just as unique as its premise, as their abilities understandably impacted their personal lives.

Their investigations often became personal for both them and the subjects of their cases, as The Lightman Group inevitably learned more than they were looking for. The show embraced this, taking on a more intimate and character-driven approach than most procedurals, which are often relegated to the workplace.

While most episodes featured a new, standalone case, Lie to Me wasn’t afraid to blend more long-form arcs into its storytelling, unpacking Cal’s abrasive personality and its impact on his ex-wife, daughter, and colleagues.

Perhaps most interesting of all, the study of microexpressions is a real science. The character of Cal Lightman is based on the late Dr. Paul Ekman, who served as a consultant on the show. With its unprecedented approach to solving crime, unique characters, and basis in real-world science, Lie to Me had no shortage of untapped potential upon its season 3 cancellation.

Now Is The Perfect Time To Reboot Lie To Me

Lie to Me has been off the air for 15 years, and the time is right for it to return. From 2009-2011, The Lightman Group’s work was focused on interpersonal interactions, primarily relying on intense interviews and extensive observations to find their answers. With the technological advancements that have occurred in the time since Lie to Me‘s cancellation, the show would likely look very different today.

The question of whether people are being lied to in face-to-face interactions has largely been superseded by the uncertain legitimacy of even the most realistic online materials. Any given video is swarmed with comments claiming the material is AI-generated, creating confusion as to whether the entity on the other side of the screen is human at all.

Lie to Me‘s expertise would be a welcome presence in this age of artificial intelligence and TV shows on the subject. It’s not difficult to imagine a contemporary iteration of Lie to Me in which Lightman is called into court to testify to the legitimacy of photograph and video evidence.

Rather than determining if a human is lying, a present-day Lie to Me would answer the question of whether someone is even human at all. This would naturally raise themes of humanity, technology, and interpersonal connection, emotional topics that could very well lead to the most satisfying and thought-provoking season of Lie to Me yet.

Release Date

2009 – 2011-00-00

Network

FOX

Showrunner

Samuel Baum

Writers

Samuel Baum