Route 187 is a 2026 crime drama streaming on Paramount+, produced through Tyler Perry Studios and created and directed by Mark E. Swinton. Set in the fictional, crime-scarred city of South Winslow, it uses a single deadly thoroughfare as the spine for a sprawling portrait of a community under pressure.
The series follows Mason James, a dogged print journalist played by Christopher Livingston, who begins investigating the notorious Route 187 after a tragedy and slowly uncovers evidence of a serial killer who has operated undetected for years. Around his reporting, the show weaves the interconnected lives of residents struggling to survive, with a cast that includes Jesse Lewis, Rico Ball, Tonia Jackson, Clark Moore, and Cuyle Carvin, each episode surfacing a new crime or social wound in the city.
Premiering September 16, 2026, Route 187 rolls out its first season on Paramount+ as part of the platform's BET-aligned slate, pairing a classic newsroom-hero premise with an urban crime-drama backdrop. It is streaming on Paramount+.
Think of "The Mentalist" as USA Network's "Psych" with prettier people, more money, slightly more upscale locations, and shorter sentences. Working as a consultant to the California Bureau of Investigation, Patrick Jane"”expertly played with appropriate style and savoir faire by Simon Baker"”uses his exceptionally well-honed powers of observation to solve big-time homicides. As the "The Mentalist" series unfolds, we learn more about Jane's con-man past: he once made a spectacular living as a television psychic, who used his command of "tells" or nuances of expression, body language, and intonation to put willing patsies in touch with dead relatives and future lovers. Of course, a life-changing tragedy inspired him to use his (almost) super-powers for good. Summing-up his new-found crime-fighter philosophy, Jane flatly declares, "There's no such thing as real psychics. Anyone who claims to have a sixth sense is either deluded or dishonest." Like all of television's elite criminalists, "The Mentalist" shows that refined powers of observation are at least as rare and valuable as ESP. Best of all, "The Mentalist" always looks wonderfully fashionable as he nabs the bad guy.
Like fine red wines, pate de foie gras, and escargot, Criminal Minds probably is an acquired taste: The crime drama psychoanalyzes the psychoanalysts, definitely building tense drama, but ironically downplaying the crimes. The New York Times has described Criminal Minds as "cerebral," a euphemism for "nerds with guns." Brilliant writing and compelling characters, however, make it work. The stories represent an elite team of specialists"”the FBI's "Behavioral Analysis Unit" "” who, in just forty-four minutes, can deconstruct a crime, profile a criminal, and bring everything to a profound resolution complete with quotation from literature. Naturally, the feds encounter resistance from local enforcers eager to protect their turf. Just as naturally, many of the stories spark viewers' recognition, because they are "ripped from the headlines." Two features sustain viewers' interest in this sometimes too-heady-for-primetime series: First, every audience loves a good hunt for a psychotic serial killer; and, second, in Criminal Minds, many of the good guys are almost as twisted as the bad guys.
