Summer Season Finales: Lie To Me

As the summer season wraps up, Lie To Me will conclude its second season on Monday, September 13th and then return for its third season November 10th. The short hiatus means that fans will not have to suffer through an inordinate amount of withdrawal before the show is back on the air.

Lie To Me is premised on a private company providing a unique skill to those who can afford its services: it can help determine if a person is lying and what they are lying about. The Lightman Group consists of Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), Dr. Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams), Eli Loker (Brendan Hines) and Ria Torres (Monica Raymund). They are the equivalent of human lie-detectors. They can spot someone lying just by looking for tell-tale micro-expressions on someone’s face. They also interpret body language and the use of word phrasing in conjunction with micro-expressions to determine what the person is lying about.

Due to the sensitive nature of their work and the frequent contact with those who have committed crimes, FBI Agent Ben Reynolds (Mikhi Fhifer) keeps a watchful eye over all of them. Then also keeping a watchful eye on her dad is Emily Lightman (Hayley McFarland), who worries that her dad is hiding secrets from her.

This past season saw each of them confront their own personal fears in their interpersonal relationships, as well as their professional relationships. Both Cal and Gillian embarked on outside romantic relationships that did not survive for a variety of reasons. Additionally, Locker and Torres also tentatively tried to connect romantically, but that imploded the minute that Loker was promoted as Torres’ supervisor.

A few stand-out episodes included “Tractor Man” in which Felicia Day guest-starred, affording her and Brendan Hines the wonderful opportunity to sing the fun song “White Lies,” and “Beat the Devil” in which Lightman went up against a serial killer played by Jason Dohring.

As the series takes risks with the safety of its core characters, it frequently leads to violent confrontations outside of the comfort of their sterile hallowed halls of The Lightman Group offices. Balancing the undue risk factor with the opportunity to use of their keen perception skills in a variety of environments has lead to an increasingly dramatic show. It will be fascinating to see where the second season ends and where the third season picks up with perhaps the fate of The Lightman Group hanging in the balance as they face-off against the FBI.

Do not miss the second season finale of Lie To Me on Monday, September 13th at 9:00 p.m. on Fox, and be sure to tune back in for its third season return on November 10, 2010 when the series debuts on in its new timeslot, Fridays at 8:00 p.m. on Fox.