Lie to me: the Complete Seasons 1 - 3

Lie to Me is an American television series that premiered on the Fox network on January 21, 2009. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The Lightman Group accept assignments from third parties (commonly local and federal law enforcement), and assist in investigations, reaching the truth through applied psychology: interpreting microexpressions, through the Facial Action Coding System, and body language.

 

In May 2009, the show was renewed for a second season consisting of 13 episodes, Season 2 premiered on September 28, 2009.  On November 24, 2009, Fox ordered an extra nine episodes for season 2, bringing the season order to 22 episodes.

 

On May 12, 2010, Entertainment Weekly reported that Lie to Me received a 13-episode third season pick-up. The third season of Lie to Me was originally to premiere on November 10, 2010. On September 28, 2010 the premiere date was moved to October 4, 2010, because of the cancellation of Lone Star.

 

Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, is a psychologist with an expertise in body language and predominantly microexpressions and founder of The Lightman Group, a private company that operates as an independent contractor to assist investigations of local and federal law enforcement through applied psychology. Though often confronted by people's skepticism, Lightman uses any psychological technique he deems necessary to reach the truth, however elaborate or confronting. He is divorced, and has shared custody of his teenage daughter. He cares deeply about Gillian Foster, and there is a chemistry between them that has yet to develop into anything more, although in the third season finale he confesses (to his daughter) that he loves her. His mother committed suicide while he was still young, an event that led him to discovering and researching microexpressions. There is evidence he was involved with British Intelligence. Lightman also mentioned interrogating IRA members, going as far as admitting he was fooled by a suspect's facial expressions that caused the murder of three people in a pub shortly after the interrogation. He has also admitted to being an MI6 intelligence agent during the Yugoslavia Wars in 1994 in an attempt to gain the trust of an intelligence agent that he was interrogating. The character is based on Dr. Paul Ekman, a notable psychologist and expert on body language and facial expressions at University of California, San Francisco.