The (Real) Science Behind 'Lie to Me'

In "Lie to Me", Tim Roth plays Dr. Cal Lightman, a deception consultant & expert based on clinical psychologist Paul Ekman, a leading expert on lie detection. Popular Mechanics catches up with Ekman, and asks how well his life and research translate to the small screen, delving into the science behind Fox's latest drama.

If Fox's Fringe is full of junk science (including people who walk through walls and communicate with the dead), then Lie to Me, the network's newest law enforcement-themed drama, is just the opposite.
At the show's center is Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), a scientist whose expertise is detecting and interpreting "micro" expressions—involuntary facial expressions that last just a moment—a useful skill if you want to want to figure out whether someone's lying, and why. Lightman runs a consulting firm from which he and three supporting characters traverse the Washington, D.C., area solving mysteries for the police, FBI and pretty much any other client who needs a lie detector.

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