How influential is the breakaway smash hit The Mentalist? So influential that it influenced shows that were on TV before it even aired! Last season, Life introduced us to Charlie Crews (Damien Lewis), an L.A. homicide detective returning to the force after serving 12 years in jail for a murder he didn't commit. Quirky, extraordinarily observant, familiar with being on the other side of the law, and teamed with a cranky female partner (sound familiar?) he applied his zen outlook to solving the bizarre cases he was faced with on a daily basis, and eventually caught the guy who did the murder he was blamed for in his spare time. That would probably have been a good way to wrap up a series -- imagine if Patrick Jane caught Red John and avenged his murdered wife and daughter on The Mentalist -- but Crews discovered a conspiracy, and has so far spent Season 2 trying to figure out who wanted to frame him (and solving murders, of course). How's that going? Well, in the last episode before the hiatus, Crews got shot in the chest.

Tags: Damian Lewis, Donal Logue, Life, NBC, Sarah Shahi, The Mentalist