THE IRRATIONAL’s Arika Lisanne Mittman on the Season-Long Mystery: ‘I Don’t Like to Artificially Drag Things Out’

Though THE IRRATIONAL’s Alec (Jesse L. Martin) has become an expert on human behavior—which he utilizes to help law enforcement solve crimes—there’s one case that’s still hanging over him: The bombing that injured him and kickstarted his foray into his current career. And while one suspect was caught, it appears there are more people involved…something Alec’s ex, Marisa (Maahra Hill), is now actively investigating. 

“I see it as a season-long question; I don’t like to artificially drag things out,” THE IRRATIONAL showrunner Arika Lisanne Mittman tells Give Me My Remote in the video below. “For storytelling, I like to give the viewer some satisfaction at the end of the season that at least some questions, if not all questions, will be answered…There will be a satisfying resolve to that mystery by the end of the season.” 

“But it will be something that plays throughout the season and something that’s going on underneath while they’re solving these ‘case with the week’ stories,” she continues. “You also have them dealing with this very personal case, that’s very emotional for both of them. It is the case that made Alec who he is, that has left him scarred, both physically and emotionally. [It was] Marisa’s first case as an FBI agent, and the case, of course, when she met her husband. So it’s very personal, very emotional for both of them, and it will be the underpinnings of the season, the whole time.”

Mittman has written on several network procedural shows in her career, including TIMELESS—“I loved that show more than life itself.”—which has given her experience with dedicated fanbases…and she acknowledges there are some parallels between the two NBC shows.

“[TIMELESS was] one of my earlier experiences with such a passionate fan base,” she says. “You have a responsibility to these people. I don’t like to mess with the fans; I like to keep them engaged, to keep them interested. And I think one of the things that these two shows have in common, one of the things I loved about TIMELESS, was that we were telling a different story every week, but you really cared about those characters. you really cared about the relationships between and among all the characters on that show. And then every episode brought you into a new world.”

“On that show, it was a new time period; we do the same thing on the show, minus the time periods part,” she continues. “We have characters who I hope that you will be very invested in their relationships to each other. But we will also be exploring that fun new world every week that they are brought into as a result of a case. At TIMELESS, I always felt like it was like a box of chocolates like, ‘Ooh, where are we gonna go this week?’ And I hope that fans feel that way about this show as well…it’s not going to be a predictable murder of the week, every week…Fans really enjoyed that on TIMELESS, and I think they will enjoy it here, as well.”

THE IRRATIONAL, Mondays, 10/9c, NBC

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