Television crime drama “The Mentalist” was not only the best new show of 2009, it also boasted the sexiest cast, according to a viewers poll released on Thursday at the close of the 2008-09 U.S. TV season.

But teen drama “The Hills” is clearly over the hill. After five seasons on MTV and the departure of star fashion intern Lauren Conrad, 25 percent of those questioned in the poll for AOL Television deemed it the most “SO over” program on TV.

Medical drama “House” won the season’s best water-cooler moment with the unexpected suicide of Dr. Lawrence Kutner. The Kutner episode beat last week’s “American Idol” finale which saw presumed front-runner Adam Lambert lose to Kris Allen.

“The Mentalist”, CBS’s program starring Australian actor Simon Baker as a police consultant with acute observational powers, took 58 percent of ballots cast for top new program.

The cast of “The Mentalist”, which includes Robin Tunney, also was overwhelmingly deemed the sexiest cast, beating teen high society favorites “Gossip Girl” and “90210″. A winning 56 per cent decided that Baker, 39, had the best comeback from his appearance in the short-lived drama “Smith” in 2006.

Actress Anna Torv of sci-fi series “Fringe” was voted best newcomer to TV, taking 32 percent of votes, and the best guest star spot went to George Clooney for his return as Dr. Doug Ross to the final season of long-running medical drama “ER”.

The poll was conducted by AOL Television (www.television.aol.com) between May 22-27 and attracted a total of 353,953 votes.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)

source:  reuters.com

I have added episode stills to the gallery from The Mentalist episodes 1×22 and 1×23.

1×22 – “Blood Brothers”

1×23 – “Red John’s Footsteps”

Simon was at the CBS Upfronts yesterday! We have added pictures to the gallery.

2009 CBS Upfront – 20th May

Simon Baker has come a long way since his soap opera days on E Street. The laid-back star of hit US show The Mentalist reveals the devil inside to David A. Keeps.

Simon Baker is on all fours, sniffing for clues. Literally. As The Mentalist’s unconventional investigator Patrick Jane, the 39-year-old actor is often called to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong. Today, he’s stuck it into the palm of a bloodied, dismembered hand. “It smells like almond moisturiser and tobacco,” he announces.

Relax. That hand is as fake as Jane’s old gig: conning people that he could speak to the dead.

It’s the opening scene of an episode entitled – what else – Red-Handed, in which Jane and the team from the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have to figure out how a man’s hand ended up on a desert highway near the California-Nevada border.

Actually, they are in Palmdale, California, an hour and change from Los Angeles, and there’s a small sandstorm brewing. After finishing a take, Baker returns to his folding chair, slips on his specs (he’s short-sighted) and describes today’s acting challenge. “It’s like talking on the back of a motorcycle with a helmet on,” he says. “The wind was so strong that the dead man’s hand was waving at me.” (more…)

I have added 192 episode stills from “The Mentalist” and 34 “behind the scenes” pictures to the gallery!

Simon is on Regis and Kelly on May 18th at 9am so tune in and watch or set your DVRs!

Simon is on The 2009 Hot 100 list at AfterElton.Com. He made it to number 79 on the list. You can see the full list here.

Simon Baker, star of the hit series “The Mentalist,” is playing an attorney on the trail of a murderer in “The Killer Inside Me,” Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of the Jim Thompson noir classic that stars Casey Affleck.

The story centers on a West Texas sheriff (Affleck) and his downward spiral from bored small-town cop to ruthless, sociopathic murderer. The cast includes Jessica Alba as a prostitute and Kate Hudson as the sheriff’s schoolteacher girlfriend.

Baker plays a county attorney trying to expose the sheriff as the killer.

The adaptation was written by Robert Weinbach and John Curran, director of “We Don’t Live Here Anymore” and “The Painted Veil.”

Baker, a native of Australia, plays a private investigator with psychic abilities on CBS’ “Mentalist,” a breakout hit of the 2008-09 television season.

source:  reuters.com

Simon was on 60 Minutes Australia for an interesting interview. Check it out below!