ADAM: Creator Bruno Heller confirms that viewers will know the true identity by the end of this calendar year. (November sweeps, anyone?) That means the early part of the season will be a highly serialized chase to narrow down the seven suspects. "We're not bumping off the suspects one by one," he says. "Some will meet an unhappy end, others will live to the denouement." But whether or not the real Red John ultimately lives to see another day will be a point of much debate between Jane and Lisbon. "All these years, Jane's always said, 'I'm going to kill that bastard,'" Heller says. "Lisbon's always said, 'I understand you want to do that, but I am the law.' Now that issue is not a theoretical one, it's a real one."

 

Ausiello: The conclusion of the Red John mystery later this fall will have a profound impact on their relationship — for better or worse. "Up until now, they’ve been tied by this professional dynamic and this mission they’re on,” notes series creator Bruno Heller. "And that held their personal relationship in suspense. Once the Red John saga is done, how do they find a new way to relate to each other? The chemistry has always been there bubbling up. But he now has other priorities and other agendas and other pressures.” The arrival of a major new female character — a series regular! — in early 2014 will serve as an added complication. "When you’re as good a detective as Jane is, it’s very hard to walk away even when you want to walk away,” Heller teases, cryptically. "Some people wont let Jane walk away from what he’s so good at. And our new female lead has something to do with that.”