Trivia: The first time Chris Noth had played Mike Logan since Exiled: A Law & Order Movie.
Trivia: Sam mentioned an old case from 1999. In the German dubbed version, it's from 1990 (even in the German subtitles it's 1999). Obviously the missing nine years takes to long to fit into the mouth movements. (00:11:10)
Trivia: Michael Mann was originally against casting Don Johnson. Prior to this TV series, Johnson had starred in four failed TV pilots.
Trivia: The name on Jenkins' disguise is "Chuck Spadina." When Keanu Reeves first came to Hollywood, he was told his name was "a little too exotic," and it was suggested he should change his name. Chuck Spadina was one option he considered, although apparently not very seriously.
Trivia: Although many realistic freeway numbers and exits mentioned over the 2-way radio are real, they were not used in the show. An unused section of the 210 freeway (close to the 118 freeway) in the San Fernando Valley that wasn't quite open to the public yet, was the location nearly always shown on the show representing whatever location is mentioned. If you see many episodes, you can see the same section of freeway always shown.
Trivia: Poirot in the ship's lounge is reading the actual May 1st 1935 issue of Bystander (recognizable by the cover and with the correct page order, does not seem to be a simple movie prop), roughly consistent with the time frame of the first season and a contest taking place on the 14th. (00:07:50)
Trivia: Elsbeth suspects that a "suicide" is actually a murder because the victim had recently used teeth whitening strips. This is similar to the last Columbo episode, "Columbo Likes the Nightlife", where the "suicide" victim has recently used mouthwash and trimmed his toenails. In each case they didn't believe a person would do those things right before taking his or her own life. Elsbeth also often turns around with "just one more thing" after walking away, just as Columbo often did.
Trivia: Although Laurel is a couple of years older than Sara, Katie Cassidy is only about a month older than Caity Lotz.
Trivia: Though it serves as a "reboot" to the prior film series and is thus not related, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa reprised his role as the villainous Shang Tsung from the 1995 film due to the popularity of his portrayal of the character.
Trivia: Michaela McManus (born in 1983) is only eleven years older than Emma Dumont (born in 1994), who plays her daughter.
Trivia: At approximately 29 minutes in, Ernie Hudson says "Who ya gonna call?" He is one of the original Ghostbusters from the 1984 film and this was the popular tag line in that movie.
Trivia: Alan tells Denny that he'll outlive them all, and will still be out there "doing Priceline commercials". William Shatner did commercials for Priceline for many years.
Trivia: Mike Pratt (playing Jeff Randall) really was laid up in a hospital bed with two broken legs. Mike Pratt was attempting to climb a drainpipe in a slightly inebriated state during his 38th birthday celebrations. He fell 20 feet into the basement area. He'd forgotten his keys, and saw the stand-in doing it - successfully - first. Mike being Mike, he thought, "I can do that" and had a go. Jeff's 'in character' excuse in the show was that he'd fallen from a balcony in a chase - a little more dignified than the truth.
Trivia: The lakeside cabin Jane bought was shot on location at Disney's Golden Oak Ranch. It is called 'Cabin by the Lake'. Http://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/scene-golden-oak-ranch-mentalist/.
Trivia: In 2014, the series creators and network were sued for emotional distress by the family of a man named Andy Abarca. Abarca had been killed in a shooting, and actual photos from his autopsy were used in the opening credits montage of the show, evidently without any permission from his family. His mother and sister just happened to stumble across the show on one night in 2013 and were greeted with grisly images of their deceased relative. It was evidently allowed as autopsy photos are considered public documents. As of 2018, there have been no updates on the case.
Trivia: Former adviser to President Ronald Reagan, Lt. Col. Oliver North, served as a consultant for several episodes.