Season 4 of The Mentalist is already underway, so let me say right away, there are Mentalist spoilers ahead.

If you haven't seen any of the current season you may want to stop reading and turn back now. With Red John possibly still on the loose and Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) out of jail, the CBI team gets back to work with a lot on their plate on The Mentalist season 4. A host of upcoming guest stars and a casting change are also in order, so we can expect this season to be full of the kind of surprises and fun we've come to expect from the show.

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The New Guy

With last week's departure of Supervising Agent J.J. LaRoche (Pruitt Taylor Vince), it's likely we'll meet the new boss sooner rather than later. Michael Rady (Greek, Melrose Place) will play Luther Wainwright. Although young and lacking field experience, Wainwright is educated, a fast learner who will be able to match wits with Jane.

The Family that Fights Crime Together ...

We'll also be introduced to one of Lisbon's (Robin Tunney) brothers, a bounty hunter named Tommy Lisbon played by Henry Thomas, who is most well known for his role in E.T., but more recently appeared in the adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' Dear John. According to Bruno Heller, "Everyone else in the Lisbon family is a policeman or fireman, so Tommy is considered a bit of a black sheep."

Sometimes They Come Back

This week in the third episode of the season, Kelli Williams (Lie to Me, The Practice) appears on The Mentalist as Beth Flint, a former client of Jane's, asking him to help find her kidnapped son. "She still believes he has psychic powers," creator Bruno Heller says, "putting Jane in a painful position."

The Mentalist spoiler alert! Later this season Morena Baccarin will reprise her role as Erica Flynn, the professional matchmaker who Jane and the team sent to jail last season. No details have been given as to how or why Flynn returns, but things will surely be interesting between her and Jane.

Inter-Agency Cooperation

Dean Norris, playing a role similar to the one he has on Breaking Bad, will appear as the head of a narcotics task force that Jane and the team will have to work with.

Jane will also deal with some help from outside the CBI later this season when Catherine Dent makes multiples appearances as FBI Special Agent Susan Darcy. Darcy will take over a case that Jane and Lisbon mess up. This will probably be just the introduction to her character, as it seems she'll be sticking around to dig into Jane and Red John. "She suspects there's more to the Red John story than Jane or the CBI is telling her," creator Bruno Heller says. "Over the course of the season, she will try to get under Jane's skin and inside his head to find the truth."

Which 'The Mentalist' Character Are You?

It looks like it's going to be an interesting season for Jane and the CBI. Any guest stars you're looking forward to?

Samuel Alarcon
Contributing Writer

(Image courtesy of CBS)