Scripted series · FOX
Lie to Me
They're undeceivable.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Tim Roth
Cal Lightman
48 eps
Kelli Williams
Gillian Foster
48 eps
Monica Raymund
Ria Torres
48 eps
Brendan Hines
Eli Loker
48 eps
Hayley McFarland
Emily Lightman
40 eps
Mekhi Phifer
Ben Reynolds
24 eps
Jennifer Beals
Zoe Landau
6 eps
Scott Paulin
Gerald Cooke
1 eps
Vince Corazza
Deputy Whitmore
1 eps
Alison La Placa
Diane Ktretschmer
1 eps
Sunkrish Bala
Arun Ashraf
1 eps
Richard Brooks
City Engineer Boulware
1 eps
Daniel Sunjata
Andrew Jenkins
1 eps
Molly Price
Deputy Director Messler
1 eps
Richmond Arquette
Trent
1 eps
Marc Blucas
Jack Rader
1 eps
Alicia Coppola
Sheila Redatti
1 eps
Nick Searcy
Mr. Donnelly
1 eps
Jason Gedrick
John Parks
1 eps
Jose Pablo Cantillo
Amadeo Valadez
1 eps
Alona Tal
Becky Turley
1 eps
James Marsters
Jay Pollack
1 eps
Sean O'Bryan
Tom McHenry
1 eps
Spencer Garrett
Mr. Anders
1 eps
D.W. Moffett
Dr. Jeffrey Buchanan
1 eps
Van Epperson
Polygrapher
1 eps
Bradford Tatum
Peter Burch
1 eps
Anjul Nigam
Shreyas Patel
1 eps
Adam Donshik
Aaron Craig
1 eps
Emilio Rivera
Tony Calvo
1 eps
Sam Ball
Joe Spaly
1 eps
Erika Christensen
Sophie / Trisha / Jessie / RJ
1 eps
Mary Mara
Krentz
1 eps
Brian Howe
Garrett Denning
1 eps
Jim Hanna
Ken
1 eps
April Grace
Mrs. Lennox
1 eps
Matt Corboy
Matt
1 eps
John Pyper-Ferguson
Jamie Cowley
1 eps
Garret Dillahunt
Eric Matheson
1 eps
Jim Meskimen
Otto Frankel
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Lie to Me actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Lie to Me reads strongest on Tension, Character Depth and Cliffhanger Intensity.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
The world's leading deception researcher, Dr. Cal Lightman, studies facial expression, body language and tone of voice to determine when a person is lying and why, which helps law enforcement and government agencies uncover the truth. But his skills also make it easier for him to deceive others.
The run
Seasons
3 seasons · 48 episodes.
- Poster unavailableSpecials
Season 0 · Unannounced
Specials
8 episodes
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
200913 episodes
7.0IMDbBest episode · S01E12 Blinded
Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
200922 episodes
7.5IMDbBest episode · S02E11 Beat The Devil
Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
201013 episodes
7.5IMDbBest episode · S03E09 Funhouse
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S02E11
Beat The Devil
Lightman investigates one of his mentor's graduate students, whom he is convinced is a psychopath, while Loker and Torres look into a UFO sighting.
- Written by David Ehrman
S03E09
Funhouse
Cal Lightman questions his own sanity while he tries to get a patient released from a mental hospital.
- Directed by Daniel Sackheim
S02E15
Teacher and Pupils
After a grisly shooting in a federal housing project, Lightman is hired to read the face of the paralyzed victim.
- Directed by Roxann Dawson
- Written by Nick Santora
S02E21
Darkness and Light
A missing woman leads the Lightman group to discover criminal activity in the adult film industry.
- Written by Matt Olmstead
S02E10
Tractor Man
A protesting farmer parks his explosives-packed tractor near the US Treasury building. Meanwhile, Loker plays babysitter to third-graders stuck in the Lightman Group office, actress Felicia Day guest stars as their teacher. Miguel Ferrer guest stars as FBI ASAC Steele, Ben Reynolds' boss.
S01E12
Blinded
Ben Reynolds, an FBI agent who's been pursuing a serial rapist terrorizing the Washington area, partners with The Lightman Group for its toughest case yet. Lightman infiltrates a prison to befriend Andrew Jenkins, a convicted criminal and a pathological liar who the serial rapist may be copy-catting. Meanwhile, Torres and Loker search Jenkins' fan mail, and Foster questions one of the rapist's recent victims.
- Directed by Milan Cheylov
- Written by Sarah Fain, Elizabeth Craft
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
- Photo unavailable
Sam Baum
Showrunner
Brian Grazer
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
David Nevins
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Samuel Baum
Executive producer
Steven Maeda
Executive producer
Nick Santora
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Rasheed Newson
Writer
Josh Singer
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Samantha Corbin-Miller
Writer
Sarah Fain
Writer
Matt Olmstead
Writer
Elizabeth Craft
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jami O'Brien
Writer
Dustin Thomason
Writer
Tom Szentgyorgyi
Writer
David Slack
Writer
- Photo unavailable
T.J. Brady
Writer
- Photo unavailable
David Ehrman
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Ilana Bar-Din Giannini
Writer
- Photo unavailable
David Graziano
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Dailyn Rodriguez
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Brian GrazerExecutive Producer
- Jeffrey DownerProducer
- David NevinsExecutive Producer
- Samuel BaumExecutive Producer
- Steven MaedaExecutive Producer
Writing
- Nick SantoraWriter
- Rasheed NewsonWriter
- Josh SingerWriter
- Samantha Corbin-MillerWriter
- Sarah FainWriter
- Matt OlmsteadWriter
Direction
- John BehringDirector
- Michael ZinbergDirector
- Timothy BusfieldDirector
- Tim HunterDirector
- Kate WoodsDirector
- Karen GaviolaDirector
Cinematography
- Alan CasoDirector of Photography
- Florian BallhausDirector of Photography
- Joseph E. GallagherDirector of Photography
Music
- Doug DeAngelisOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- HuluStreaming
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
If you liked this
Similar Series
Series that share this one's texture, not just its genre tags.
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Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
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Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
The Mentalist
2008
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
Criminal Minds
2005
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
House
2004
Where our editors would send you after the credits roll.
High Potential
2024
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
S.W.A.T.
2017
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
Scene of the Crime
1970
A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Never stop watching
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