List of Lie to Me episodes

Lie to Me is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox network on January 21, 2009. The series follows Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues at The Lightman Group, as they solve crimes using applied psychology by interpreting microexpressions (through the Facial Action Coding System) and body language.

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Season premiere	Season finale	DVD release dates
					Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	1	13	January 21, 2009	May 13, 2009	August 25, 2009	September 14, 2009	October 28, 2009
	2	22	September 28, 2009	September 13, 2010	November 9, 2010	January 31, 2011	December 1, 2010
	3	13	October 4, 2010	—	—	—	—

List of episodes

Season 1 (2009)

№	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (million)
1	1	"Pilot"	Robert Schwentke	Samuel Baum	January 21, 2009 (2009-01-21)	1APW79	12.37
Dr. Cal Lightman is the world's leading deception expert who studies facial expressions and involuntary body language to discover not only if someone is lying, but why. Lightman and his team of deception experts assist law enforcement and government agencies to expose the truth behind the lies. The son of a family of devout Jehovah's Witnesses is accused of killing his teacher after being caught fleeing the scene of her murder. Meanwhile, the team is hired by the Democratic National Committee to investigate a second case in which the Chairman of the House Ethics Committee is accused of paying for sex. Features the song "Easier to Lie" by Aqualung.
2	2	"Moral Waiver"	Adam Davidson	Josh Singer	January 28, 2009 (2009-01-28)	1APW01	12.20
When a female soldier accuses her platoon leader of sexual assault, Lightman is brought to Fort Meade to find out if there's any truth to the accusation. The woman is found to be covering for someone else. Lightman tricks the Staff Sergeant into admitting that he coerced sex with a soldier by threatening to give her the most dangerous assignment. Meanwhile, Foster investigates whether a high-profile basketball recruit accepted bribes to play for a university.
3	3	"A Perfect Score"	Eric Laneuville	Teleplay by: Steven Maeda Story by: Samuel Baum & Steven Maeda	February 4, 2009 (2009-02-04)	1APW04	12.99
The murder of a teenage girl who is the daughter of a powerful federal judge leads The Lightman Group to a highly competitive college-prep school where getting to the head of the class means everything. Lightman discovers that a fellow student killed her to protect her involvement in an SAT cheating scam. Foster investigates a NASA test pilot accused of intentionally crashing a $250 million aircraft. Features the song "Lies" by The Black Keys.
4	4	"Love Always"	Tim Hunter	Teleplay by: Tom Szentgyorgyi Story by: Tom Szentgyorgyi & Steven Maeda	February 18, 2009 (2009-02-18)	1APW03	11.09
A controversial South Korean ambassador is presumed to be an assassination target at his son's state wedding. The Lightman team is sent to prevent the murder. Yet the son is shot instead and Lightman exposes long-held family secrets and lies in order to identify the killer -- the jealous ex-husband of the son's wife who was using the potential threat at the lavish affair as a cover. Features the song "I'd Rather Be With You" by Joshua Radin.
5	5	"Unchained"	Lesli Linka Glatter	Josh Singer	March 4, 2009 (2009-03-04)	1APW05	10.20
Lightman and Torres team up to interrogate a notorious and imprisoned gang leader who claims to be rehabilitated. If the gang leader is freed on parole, he might help fight inner-city violence or return to his life of crime. Foster and Loker investigate the death of a firefighter who was killed in the line of duty. He may have been murdered in a hazing prank gone wrong, but it is revealed that he violated a fireman's code by sleeping with the chief's niece. Features the song "Unchained" by Johnny Cash.
6	6	"Do No Harm"	John Behring	Jami O'Brien	March 11, 2009 (2009-03-11)	1APW06	11.25
Foster and Lightman investigate a potential abduction of an 11-year-old girl. During the investigation, the audience learns more about Gillian's private issues. Ria and Eli try to find out whether a renowned peace activist is really who she claims to be. However, Eli is attracted to the woman, which interferes with his professional opinion, but eventually relents and is the one who took a confession from her, after he has doubts on her story's credibility. Features the song "Wonderwall" by Ryan Adams.
7	7	"The Best Policy"	Arvin Brown	T.J. Brady & Rasheed Newson	March 18, 2009 (2009-03-18)	1APW07	10.26
An old friend of Lightman asks him to look into a death caused by a new experimental drug. Foster and Loker help the U.S. government negotiate the release of two Americans about to be executed for possession of narcotics. Features the song "3 Dimes Down" by Drive-By Truckers.
8	8	"Depraved Heart"	Adam Davidson	Dustin Thomason	April 1, 2009 (2009-04-01)	1APW08	9.18
Lightman is obsessed with his investigation of two women (Naila Azad, Seema Lazar) who committed suicide - he is assisted by Torres; Foster and Loker try to recover millions of dollars for investors who were scammed. Loker lies to Foster with the aid of muscle relaxants to calm his face when he tips the SEC off on who the scammer actually was; one of the ramifications were that the money was not returned to their owners. Loker confides in Torres in what he did.
9	9	"Life Is Priceless"	Clark Johnson	Dustin Thomason	April 8, 2009 (2009-04-08)	1APW02	8.56
While investigating a building collapse, Lightman discovers a massive cover-up. Meanwhile, a billionaire asks the team to determine if his girlfriend loves him for the right reasons and convinces Loker and Torres to take the case by the large sum of money he is offering to the company. Features the song "This is the Thing" by Fink.
10	10	"Better Half"	Karen Gaviola	Ilana Bar-Din Giannini & Josh Singer	April 22, 2009 (2009-04-22)	1APW10	7.97
The Lightman Group is hired by Cal's ex-wife, Zoe Landau, to help with an arson case. Features the song "Four Seasons in One Day" by Crowded House.
11	11	"Undercover"	Seith Mann	Tom Szentgyorgyi	April 29, 2009 (2009-04-29)	1APW09	7.75
The group investigates a controversial case about a cop who shot a teenager and the threat of a terrorist attack. Meanwhile, the Lightman Group is supposedly "sued" relating to the multi-million dollar scam, but it was actually a test for Torres' loyalty to see if she would reveal what Loker did (Lightman already knew). Loker is made an unpaid intern near the end of the episode by Lightman, instead of being fired as he was expecting. Features the song "Walk Away" by Joseph Arthur.
12	12	"Blinded"	Milan Cheylov	Sarah Fain & Elizabeth Craft	May 6, 2009 (2009-05-06)	1APW11	8.68
An FBI agent enlists the Lightman Group in the hunt for a serial rapist. Lightman is slightly disadvantaged by the skills of lying demonstrated by a former serial rapist (played by Daniel Sunjata) whom the suspect is thought to be copycatting. Loker, Torres and Foster all work on this case. Ben Reynolds is made part of the Lightman group at the end of the episode.
13	13	"Sacrifice"	Adam Davidson	Josh Singer & Dustin Thomason	May 13, 2009 (2009-05-13)	1APW12	8.46
Domestic terrorist bombings are occurring across the Washington, DC area sending everyone in a panic. FBI Agent Ben Reynolds calls on The Lightman Group to help identify those responsible and prevent more attacks. Lightman finds that the bombs were detonated remotely and that the bombers were set-up by someone else. The case takes a personal turn for Torres when Dupree goes missing. Lightman decides to hide the news from Torres so she can remain focused on the big picture. Is honesty indeed the best policy? Zoe helps Lightman with the investigation and both are concerned about their daughter's safety. Features the song "Who by Fire" by Leonard Cohen (inspired by a Jewish prayer associated with the Days of Awe Unetanneh Tokef)

Season 2 (2009-2010)

№	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (million)
14	1	"The Core of It"	Dan Sackheim	Elizabeth Craft & Sarah Fain	September 28, 2009 (2009-09-28)	2APW01	7.73
A young woman approaches Lightman at his book signing, believing she has psychically seen a murder. Lightman finds that the woman has multiple personalities, and he believes that one of her personalities witnessed the murder. Lightman passes off helping Agent Reynolds vet a potential Supreme Court nominee, instead choosing to pursue the case of the multiple-personality woman. The case is passed on to Torres, whom the nominee does not treat with respect due to her age. Torres puts her preconceived judgments about the man aside when she analyzes the facts. Lightman unlocks the woman's original personality, who helps Lightman find the original murderer. Zoe informs Lightman that she is taking their daughter, Emily, and moving to Chicago to open a law firm. Lightman buys out her stake in The Lightman Group so that she can start her own practice in town. Guest stars Tomas Arana, Erika Christensen and Michael Raymond-James.
15	2	"Truth or Consequences"	Michael Offer	Nick Santora	October 5, 2009 (2009-10-05)	2APW03	8.06
Zoe enlists Lightman to help with her client -- a 22 year-old star college football player who has been accused of statutory rape with a 16 year-old girl. The case hits home for Lightman, who learns that his daughter Emily was friends with the group of girls who attend these college fraternity parties. Through the course of their investigation, Lightman and Torres determine that Zoe's client was set-up by the girl, whose friends leaked the video of the hookup. Lightman figures that the man did not know the girl was underage, noting that his face showed that he knew he shouldn't find underage girls attractive. Meanwhile, Foster and Loker travel to a religious compound to determine whether its claim of IRS exemption is valid. They believe the head of the compound is holding the women against their will. Foster facilitates the escape of one woman and her children, and faces the wrath of both Loker and the government. At the end, the girl's father believes the system is protecting the football player, and decides that someone has to pay. He shoots the prosecutor that dropped the charges against the football player, with whose death the episode ends. Guest stars James Marsters and John Carroll Lynch. Features "Kingdoms of Rain" by Mark Lanegan or Soulsavers
16	3	"Control Factor"	James Hayman	Sharon Lee Watson	October 12, 2009 (2009-10-12)	2APW04	7.87
While on vacation in Mexico with Emily, Lightman becomes involved in the case of a missing American woman, who is a single mother on vacation with her daughter. Upon investigation, Lightman learns that the mother got herself involved with an illegal fertility broker and he manages to find her just in time. Back home, Foster investigates D.C.-area hospitals with Lightman's rival, Jack Rader. They try to uncover the reason that five people have grown gravely ill after receiving blood transfusions. Features the song "Sing a Song" by Donavon Frankenreiter
17	4	"Honey"	Timothy Busfield	Matt Olmstead	October 19, 2009 (2009-10-19)	2APW02	7.79
Eric Matheson (Garret Dillahunt) is determined to prove that he didn't murder his wife. Torres is assigned to investigate the murder, and goes to the house of the victim's sister. Matheson finds Torres' car and gets into it after she forgot to lock the door. When Torres returns, Matheson holds her at gunpoint, instructing her to drive to the Lightman Group offices. Cal makes a deal with Mattheson, asking him to let all the employees go as long as he helps prove Mattheson's innocence. Mattheson complies, and Foster, Loker, Reynolds and Torres attempt to solve the case, while Loker has second thoughts about not calling the authorities. Cal and the team find out that Mattheson was actually innocent, and that his wife was actually killed by a creditor. Mattheson demands that he sees the creditor, saying he will either take his life or Cal's. Cal pleads for Mattheson to kill him, but Foster, Loker and Reynolds trick Mattheson into letting his guard down after a disguised Loker pretends to recount the last moments of Mattheson's wife's life. As Mattheson is in a moment of rage before killing Loker, Reynolds draws his gun and shoots Mattheson, disarming him. The episode ends with Lightman at Foster's home, asking if he could sleep in her spare room for the night. Guest starring: Meta Golding.
18	5	"Grievous Bodily Harm"	Eric Laneuville	Alexander Cary	October 26, 2009 (2009-10-26)	2APW05	6.33
Cal's old friend Terry Marsh (Lennie James) attempts to pull him into a criminal conspiracy after he settles Terry's gambling debts. The criminals abduct both Cal and Terry and try to recruit Cal to be their personal lie detector, forcing him to determine the validity of a client's counterfeit bills. Over the course of the episode, it is revealed that both Terry and Cal got into trouble with the police, and that Terry volunteered to take all the blame, allowing Cal to continue with his life. The event ends with an FBI raid, and Lightman tells Terry that they're even. Meanwhile, the Lightman Group probes murderous threats against a high school. They determine that the threats were made by an overweight girl, who is suicidal due to emotional attacks by her classmates and gym teacher. However, the gym teacher is arrested for obstruction of justice, while the overweight girl is in the hospital recovering from an attempted overdose. Guest star Pavel Lychnikoff.
19	6	"Lack of Candor"	Terrence O'Hara	T.J. Brady & Rasheed Newson	November 9, 2009 (2009-11-09)	2APW07	7.41
After a federal witness is killed, the US attorney arrives at the Lightman Group to take the next witness in line, Reynolds, into protected custody. Cal feels that the US Marshals Service cannot protect Reynolds, so he takes him "hostage" and demands that he be able to run the investigation into the witness's death. During his investigation, he finds out that while undercover Reynolds did drugs and killed a man and wants to keep it a secret to avoid prosecution after he finds out that his handler (Alicia Coppola) did not properly report the event. Through his own undercover operation, Cal records the handler admitting that she led Reynolds to believe that everything was all set legally, and the US attorney subsequently takes her into custody. Meanwhile Loker and Torres discover that the original witness was killed after the cell phone that his mistress provided was tracked to his safe house's location.
20	7	"Black Friday"	Dan Sackheim	Ethan Drogin & Heather Thomason	November 16, 2009 (2009-11-16)	2APW08	7.23
The Lightman Group helps a teenager who believes he was abducted as a baby, while Loker and Torres try to figure out what caused a deadly stampede at an electronics store. Features the song "VCR" by The xx. Guest star: Nick Searcy
21	8	"Secret Santa"	Michael Zinberg	Alexander Cary	November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)	2APW09	7.16
Cal spends the holidays in Afghanistan, where he relies solely on an American expatriate to help a mission to find a pair of missing Marines. Guest stars: Michael Goorjian, Jason Gedrick, April Grace and Mark Rolston.
22	9	"Fold Equity"	Elodie Keene	Sarah Fain & Elizabeth Craft	November 30, 2009 (2009-11-30)	2APW06	7.49
Lightman, Foster and Reynolds travel to Las Vegas to help locate a missing finalist in the World Series of Poker. Lightman uses his skills to read the other competitors' faces to figure out which one knows about the disappearance. Meanwhile, Loker and Torres analyze Loker's new relationship, and as a result, get closer to each other.
23	10	"Tractor Man"	Vahan Moosekian	Tim Clemente	December 14, 2009 (2009-12-14)	2APW10	6.64
A protesting farmer parks his explosives-packed tractor near the US Treasury building. Meanwhile, Loker plays babysitter to third-graders stuck in the Lightman Group office. Actress Felicia Day guest stars as the third-graders' teacher. Miguel Ferrer guest stars as FBI ASAC Steele, Ben Reynolds' boss.
24	11	"Beat the Devil"	Vahan Moosekian	David Ehrman & Ethan Drogin	June 7, 2010 (2010-06-07)	2APW21	6.06
Lightman investigates one of his mentor's graduate students (Jason Dohring), whom he is convinced is a psychopath and possibly a murderer, while Loker and Torres look into a UFO sighting, resulting in an encounter with Air Force Colonel Gorman (Glenn Morshower).
25	12	"Sweet Sixteen"	Dan Sackheim	Alexander Cary	June 14, 2010 (2010-06-14)	2APW15	6.48
After Lightman’s former Pentagon colleague is killed in a car bomb, Lightman and Foster are forced to revisit a series of events from their past, including the therapy sessions that brought them together.
26	13	"The Whole Truth"	James Whitmore, Jr.	Ethan Drogin	June 21, 2010 (2010-06-21)	2APW11	6.08
Lightman is called to testify in the trial of a beautiful widow accused of murder. Melissa George guest stars.
27	14	"React to Contact"	Michael Zinberg	Daniel Voll	June 28, 2010 (2010-06-28)	2APW20	6.20
Lightman helps a traumatized soldier who got back from Iraq and who thinks that someone is trying to kill him. Enver Gjokaj guest stars.
28	15	"Teacher and Pupils"	Roxann Dawson	Kevin Townsley & Nick Santora	July 12, 2010 (2010-07-12)	2APW13	5.71
While investigating the murder of a police officer, Cal discovers a conspiracy that could threaten his daughter; meanwhile, Cal must get the Lightman Group out from under a financial crisis.
29	16	"Delinquent"	Michael Zinberg	Elizabeth Craft & Sarah Fain	July 19, 2010 (2010-07-19)	2APW14	5.66
When a pregnant girl is found murdered, Cal and the Lightman Group team help Torres try to clear her juvenile-delinquent sister of charges, and protect her from the real killer. Features the song "First Light" by Matt Pond PA
30	17	"Bullet Bump"	James Hayman	T.J. Brady & Rasheed Newson	July 26, 2010 (2010-07-26)	2APW16	5.60
The Lightman Group investigates when a young woman is killed at a political rally in Virginia. Guest stars Melissa George, Richard Burgi and Sheryl Lee. Features the song "I'm an Animal" by Neko Case
31	18	"Headlock"	Michael Offer	Sharon Lee Watson & Jameal Turner	August 2, 2010 (2010-08-02)	2APW18	5.64
A street fighter is murdered and Lightman is the prime suspect. The clock ticks as the Lightman Group must find the real killer before Lightman ends up behind bars.
32	19	"Pied Piper"	Paul McCrane	Sharon Lee Watson	August 16, 2010 (2010-08-16)	2APW12	4.96
Zoe and Lightman fear they sent an innocent man to his death when a man they prosecuted 17 years ago is executed. The Shield alums Benito Martinez, Catherine Dent, David Rees Snell, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, and Kenny Johnson all guest star.
33	20	"Exposed"	Terrence O'Hara	David Graziano	August 23, 2010 (2010-08-23)	2APW19	5.10
After Foster’s boyfriend, Dave Burns, gets abducted, Lightman tries to track him down with the help of Burns’ mysterious ex-partner.
34	21	"Darkness and Light"	Lesli Linka Glatter	Matt Olmstead & Heather Thomason	August 30, 2010 (2010-08-30)	2APW17	5.21
The Lightman Group investigates the disappearance of a young woman, which leads them to uncover a criminal element in the adult film business.
35	22	"Black and White"	Daniel Sackheim	Alexander Cary & Kevin Townsley	September 13, 2010 (2010-09-13)	2APW22	4.94
The Lightman Group investigates the murder of a journalist and friend of Lightman’s who was killed while exposing a corrupt politician--a case that tests Lightman’s relationship with Reynolds and the FBI. Meanwhile, Emily’s newfound interest in dating makes her father uncomfortable.

Season 3 (2010-2011)

№	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (million)
36	1	"In the Red"	Daniel Sackheim	Alexander Cary & David Graziano	October 4, 2010 (2010-10-04)	3APW01	5.87
Lightman attempts to stop a man from robbing a bank by helping plan and execute it. Meanwhile, Foster and Lightman get into an argument over who is in charge of running the company and a new intern is hired to replace Loker.
37	2	"The Royal We"	Michael Zinberg	David Ehrman	October 11, 2010 (2010-10-11)	3APW02	5.44
In the course of defending a wrongly accused man Lightman uncovers a secret.
38	3	"Dirty Loyal"	Michelle MacLaren	Kevin Fox	October 18, 2010 (2010-10-18)	3APW03	5.62
Internal Affairs investigates an incident involving Detective Wallowski (Monique Curnen). The Lightman Group is hired to review police profiling techniques.
39	4	"Double Blind"	David Platt	Dailyn Rodriguez	October 25, 2010 (2010-10-25)	3APW05	4.26
The Lightman Group's expertise is called into question when a woman (Tricia Helfer) plays cat-and-mouse with Cal while he's checking for security leaks at an art museum prior to a major exhibition.
40	5	"The Canary's Song"	Unknown	Unknown	November 8, 2010 (2010-11-08)	TBA	TBA
When Lightman investigates a coal mine explosion that killed six miners, he suspects that foul play may have been involved. To find the truth, he puts his life at risk and descends below the surface. Meanwhile, the FBI comes back to The Lightman Group looking for help with another case, and Foster and Torres offer to work pro bono.
41	6	"Beyond Belief"	Unknown	Unknown	November 15, 2010 (2010-11-15)	TBA	TBA
42	7	"Smoked"	Unknown	Unknown	November 22, 2010 (2010-11-22)	TBA	TBA

External links

• Official website
• Lie to Me episodes information at film.com
• List of Lie to Me episodes at TVGuide.com
• Lie to Me at IMDb