561 fans | Vote

tvlistings.aol.com 24/09/2009

Amanda  Righetti, 'The Mentalist'

Amanda Righetti Talks 'The Mentalist,' Simon Baker's Obsessive Fans & More

September 24, 2009 | By: Maggie Furlong (source)

As one-fifth of the CBI team on 'The Mentalist,' Amanda Righetti has the inside scoop on everything related to Red John, interoffice romances and, yes, Simon Baker.

Coming off a sensationally rated first season, 'The Mentalist' moves to a new night for season 2 (premieres Thurs., Sept. 24, 10PM ET on CBS). And fans can expect other changes, as well, besides the time-slot switch.

Righetti gave AOL TV the exclusive scoop on her new TV boss, who just might go all the way -- and what she knows about her uber-popular co-star Baker.

Did you have any idea that the show would be this huge breakout hit?
It's always a crapshoot -- no, I did not expect it at all. I know that CBS had really high hopes for it, but even their highest hopes, it exceeded. We premiered with bigger numbers than they had anticipated and we continue to stay in the top 10, which is pretty amazing.

Has fan reaction changed now that you're on one of the biggest shows on TV? Like, is it hard to grocery shop?
You know what? Not yet, knock on wood. Hopefully it'll stay that way for a while. [Laughs] I get a little more fan mail than I used to, but I still fly under the radar enough that I don't get recognized all the time when I'm out. I welcome it that way ... I like to still have my privacy in my life.

Terry KinneyWe know there's some new blood this season helping out with the hunt for Red John. Any details?
Terry Kinney is coming in, and he's a really, really lovely man. He is sort of the nemesis to Jane [played by Simon Baker]. He comes in and sort of steals Jane's thunder and then we find out that Bosco, the character that Terry plays, and Lisbon [Robin Tunney's character] have some history as well.

Amanda Righetti  & Owain YeomanThey have some history, and a secret, I hear ...
Yes, they do, they do. There is also a little bit of possible love affair stuff for Grace Van Pelt, my character ... she and Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) might end up going all the way. That's being thrown around, but I don't know ... it hasn't happened yet, so I don't know how far it's gonna go, or if it's gonna go all the way, but there are rumors of that happening this season.

Wait -- like for real, for real?
I don't know for sure, but that's the rumor! I might not have a job tomorrow ... no, I'm kidding. [Laughs] We haven't made it to that episode, so it's rumor until I see it on the page.

Besides hookups, the next most talked about thing on 'The Mentalist' is, of course, Simon Baker. People are obsessed with him!
Yeah, they are kind of obsessed with him. It's funny because I get that more than anything -- if I am recognized for the show, fans are huge fans of Simon's, and I get all sorts of wacky questions about what it's like to work with him and all that stuff. It's funny because Simon gets very embarrassed about it too. [Laughs] Of course, Robin gives him crap for it all the time. [Laughs] But he's got a huge fan base, and all the girls eat him up, so it just helps our viewership even more.

Simon BakerWhat is something about him that fans don't know?

I don't know -- there are some wacky fans that know a lot about Simon! [Laughs] He's very serious about his work, but he's also a total family guy. You know, he's married and he has kids, and I think he takes a lot of pride in his children, and in spending time with them. Especially the hours he works -- to go home and still spend time with his boys and his daughter, I think that's pretty commendable.

So besides the romance and the continuing Red John investigation, what else is up with the CBI team this season?
There are definitely a lot of twists and turns -- there is a lot of pressure on our team because of Red John, and Lisbon kind of has a meltdown, which is a pretty cool episode. Minelli is in and out of our hair a lot, and I'm hearing that there are gonna be some pretty cool arcs for his character this year as well. We haven't really seen too much of Red John in the beginning of this season ... we got very close, but it's sort of like two steps forward, four steps back.

Robin TunneyIs Lisbon's meltdown because of Bosco coming back into her life?
It's a little bit of that, but it's more about a case that she worked on a long time ago, and it sort of gets to her. It comes back to kind of haunt her.

When you're not working, what do you like to watch on TV?
I watch Letterman. Once in a while, on the odd night, I'll catch the Food Network and watch 'Ace of Cakes,' which I'm kind of obsessed with. I really love that show -- I'm completely entertained! It's amazing the kind of cakes they've built! I've been catching a lot of 'Boston Legal' reruns, which I really started getting into last year. Obviously I'm really behind [laughs].

Ecrit par LAurore 
Activité récente

Jeu de traque
26.02.2024

Une promesse
19.02.2024

Actualités
Décès de Gregory Itzin

Décès de Gregory Itzin
Gregory Itzin, principalement connu pour ses rôles de l'agent Minelli dans The Mentalist et du...

Teresa rencontre Miss Parker !

Teresa rencontre Miss Parker !
Le nouveau Survivor du Caméléon vous propose de départager les orphelines de séries TV qui...

[Alternative Awards] Patrick s'invite dans la liste des nommés

[Alternative Awards] Patrick s'invite dans la liste des nommés
La nouvelle catégorie des Alternative Awards propose de voter pour celui qui aurait pu finir...

Teresa dans la course sur The X Files !

Teresa dans la course sur The X Files !
Pour son nouveau sondage le quartier The X Files vous propose de départager plusieurs héroïnes qui...

Mentalist sur TMC

Mentalist sur TMC
Pour rappel, TMC rediffuse en ce moment Mentalist tous les vendredis à partir de 21h15, à raison de...

Newsletter

Les nouveautés des séries et de notre site une fois par mois dans ta boîte mail ?

Inscris-toi maintenant

HypnoRooms

chrismaz66, 24.03.2024 à 17:40

Bonsoir, nouvelle PDM/Survivor Illustré chez Torchwood, dédié aux épisodes audios, venez voter, merci !

Locksley, 25.03.2024 à 20:10

Pas beaucoup de promo... Et si vous en profitiez pour commenter les news ou pour faire vivre les topics ? Bonne soirée sur la citadelle !

choup37, Avant-hier à 10:09

La bande-annonce de la nouvelle saison de Doctor Who est sortie! Nouvelle saison, nouveau docteur, nouvelle compagne, venez les découvrir

Sas1608, Hier à 18:25

Pour les 20 ans de la série, le quartier de Desperate Housewives change de design ! Venez voir ça !

mnoandco, Aujourd'hui à 19:49

Nouveau design sur Discovery of Witches, n'hésitez pas un faire un p'tit détour même sans connaître la série.

Viens chatter !