Being able to visit a real-world setting that inspires a TV series makes enjoying a great show even better and no other location offers opportunities to do that than the state of California, USA.
With its wide range of environments, countless TV serials have called this American state their home, even though the themes may have been set miles away.
Like other major TV shows,The Mentalist was mainly filmed within Los Angeles County apart from a handful of scenes in Sacramento on location.
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Filming locations of The Mentalist
This popular Bruno Heller created American drama series broadcasted 151 episodes onTV between September 2008 till February 2015 on the CBS channel.
October 15,2008 was the first season of The Mentalist within the studio zones of Los Angeles from downtown LA to the beaches and San Fernando Valley and Palmdale.
Charles W.Eliot Middle School
Thanks to its large fortress-like bell tower,the Charles W Eliot Middle School is an arresting structure located directly across the street from the Larry Crowne building in Altadena.
The school popped up in the season 2 of The Mentalist in the episode titled “Rose-Colored Glasses” with its most striking and recognisable structure,the bell tower.
The school was a substitute of the Rancho Rosa High School in the episode.Several other areas, including the rear blacktop were also used in the serial.
Whittier Narrows Recreation Area
This is where the final scene of the Red John episode was filmed depicting the cemetery,a church and a park.Located on the banks of the Gabriel river,the park is a sanctuary of 400 acres of woodlands while the lake is a haven for winter migratory birds.
Pico House,Los Angeles
Pico House,once a famous luxury hotel,is now a landmark of National Historic Importance located in downtown Los Angeles and was the site of the CBI headquarters in the TV series,The Mentalist.
The Pico House was completed in 1870 by Pio Pico,the former governor of Alta California and at the time of its inauguration was said to be the most luxurious building in Los Angeles. The building is featured prominently in the “Bloodshot” episode of the series.
Several parts including the exterior stairwell area were featured in the episode,the alleyways and the parking lot where the car bomb exploded.
Rubio House, Pasadena
This large colonial-like structure is located just a few miles north of Pasadena on Rubio Street in Altadena and featured prominently in the “Seeing Red” episode of The Mentalist.
The interior, exterior and especially the area around the front porch were shown several times in this episode. Rubio House is like any other typical home found in the Midwest,which is probably the reason it was a part of this TV series.
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios
The swamp area in The Mentalist where the car that killed murder victim Rosemary Tennant is found is the Warner Brothers swamp which has been used by numerous producers over the years.
In the actual episode,Baker and the crew could be seen extracting the car from the water. The swamp is located on the Warner Brothers backlot and can only be visited on a guided tour.of the Warner Brothers Burbank Studios.
The episode 5 of the popular crime drama titled “Redwoods” which revolves around a girl found stabbed to death in a forest was also shot in the Warner Brothers studios, especially stage 9 and 14 were used to film this episode.
Disney’s Golden Oak Ranch
The lakeside home which featured in the final serial where Jane and Lisbon tied the knot was the Cabin by the Lake located in the Disney’s Golden Oak Ranch located on the Placerita Canyon Road,Newhall.
The ranch features large swathes of scenic countryside,a 42: storefront business district and a street with 14 residential homes and has been featured in hundreds of movies.
Dianne G Van Hook University
The building first showed up in the season 6 episode of The Mentalist entitled “My blue heaven” and has substantially been shown in every episode, usually in establishing shots.
The interior of the Dianne G Van Hook University also pops up occasionally on The Mentalist and recently in season 7 episode entitled “The silver briefcase” where Jane and Lisbon are shown walking along the broadwalk
Los Angeles County
The season seven episode of The Mentalist entitled “Orange Blossom Ice Cream” which had scenes of Beirut was actually shot in Los Angeles County and the freelance footage of Beirut was supplemented by Michael Timney.
