The Big Picture

• Numb3rs combines crime solving with math in a unique and captivating way, bringing numbers to the forefront as a life philosophy.
• The series makes math cool by showing its real-world applications, engaging viewers in the mysteries solved through mathematics.
• The relationships and character development in Numb3rs add depth to the story, making it a binge-worthy and satisfying watch for procedural fans.

So, you’ve caught up on Law and Order — all of the Law and Order series, even, you overachiever. You’ve gotten through NCIS and CSI, and you blew through Criminal Minds in no time flat. Now, you’re stuck in a procedural drama limbo, unsure of what to watch to scratch your mystery and crime itch. What’s a procedural fan to do? It’s an easy fix. Watch Numb3rs.

Numb3rs is a mystery procedural from 2005 that follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his brother, mathematics professor Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), as they solve crimes. Don leads a team of investigators as Charlie develops mathematical models to help them pinpoint locations (geographic profiling) and predict behavior, among other things. Don and Charlie live with their father, Alan (Judd Hirsch), who sometimes also aids with cases, and Charlie often collaborates with his former mentor and fellow professor Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol) and Professor Amita Ramanujan (Navi Rawat), who he acted as a thesis advisor for. The series goes between the FBI squad, the scientists at the California Institute of Science, and the Eppes family as they solve crimes and navigate problems and relationships.

'Numb3rs' Is a Mystery Procedural About Math

Unlike other procedurals, where science and math are used in forensic investigation, but the focus is mostly placed on the chase of the police, Numb3rs brings math to the forefront as not just a method to solve crimes, but as a life philosophy. We use numbers and equations every day, even if we don’t realize it, to make predictions and weigh odds. This series aims to show that math is more than just numbers and graphs.

Numb3rs is, admittedly, what got me through my college math classes without drowning in a puddle of my own tears. It’s easy to think of math as just equations and word problems, or to see it as horribly daunting; in fact, the New York Times article “How to Help a Child With Math Anxiety” reports that up to 30 percent of people experience intense math anxiety, and this writer is absolutely in that percentage.

‘Numb3rs’ Employs an Unusual Protagonist in David Krumholtz’ Charlie

However, Numb3rs makes math cool. The series is about how mathematics is all around us. Just like Law and Order’s unforgettable “In the criminal justice system” opening monologue, Numb3rs starts each episode with a short intro: "We all use math every day: to predict weather, to tell time, to handle money. Math is more than formulas or equations; it's logic, it's rationality, it's using your mind to solve the biggest mysteries we know."

While the show is still very much a crime procedural, it first and foremost feels like a math mystery. Because most of us sitting at home are not math super geniuses like Charlie, we get to have fun trying to figure out how on earth math can be used for the task at hand. The average viewer lacking knowledge of advanced mathematics actually works in the series’ favor because it puts them further into the mystery; we’re used to seeing a cop like Don save the day by chasing down the bad guy. We see it in Law and Order with characters like Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and in NCIS with Gibbs (Mark Harmon). It’s easy to focus a show on these types of characters and center the investigative aspects around them because it’s exciting and fast-paced. Numb3rs, on the other hand, really leans into the cases being solved through math and puts Charlie in the spotlight despite him being a less traditional hero for a crime procedural, similar to Criminal Minds' Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler). Charlie always feels like he’s written purposefully and when he’s put in the spotlight, it’s because he needs to be there as an important part of the series.

Charlie’s importance comes from him being the…well, the numbers of Numb3rs! When Charlie talks about math, there’s a passion in it that most people in real life will never feel. Being able to see the way he thinks about math, how he sees numbers, equations, and models in every facet of life, is fascinating, even if you can't stand the subject, because it shows application. We all feel like we’ll never use algebra or calculus again while sitting in our high school classrooms, but when you watch Numb3rs, you get to see how that type of math is actually used in the world, both in solving crimes and in regular everyday life. In fact, Numb3rs is so concerned with real-world applications that two mathematicians, Keith Devlin and Gary Lorden (who served as a math consultant for the show), wrote a book called The Numbers Behind Numbers in 2007 to explain how the math in the show translates to real life. It’s a good and fun read, and after you watch the show, you’ll probably want to pick it up.

'Numb3rs' Has a Great Story to Go with Its Math Magic

Okay, maybe you want to leave the math to the professionals, totally understandable. Not to worry, though, because Numb3rs isn’t just about numbers — it bears an excellent story. Some of the most interesting moments in the series happen between Don, Charlie, and Alan, as Charlie and Alan act as expert consultants for the FBI. While the family is shown to be close-knit, underneath, Don and Charlie have plenty of issues with each other that are born of their different viewpoints and ideas about the world. Don is unforgiving and quick to act first and ask questions later, and this causes plenty of clashes with Charlie, who is more methodical and wants to find the probability in everything before he moves forward. As the series progresses, Don has to work through the trauma caused by his job and upbringing, and this strengthens his relationship with Charlie and Alan. The development of Don and Charlie as characters is extremely well done, and it never feels like their development moves backward; it’s mostly linear and gets a satisfying conclusion.

The relationships of the series all bring up interesting viewpoints and dynamics as well. With Don and Charlie especially, they’re so similar yet different, and the friction between them brings up interesting views on familial trauma, sibling rivalry, and personal philosophy. Particularly in the later seasons, when Don is going through therapy, he and Charlie have a lot of conversations about ethics and religion that don’t often find their way into procedural series like this. Similarly, Charlie and Larry’s friendship shows different sides to academia and life, with Charlie being more rigid and Larry being more whimsical. It’s between these two characters that we see a lot of Charlie’s struggle with not knowing how to be present for other people because of his way of thinking. The characters and how they interact with each other feel mostly natural, and they only make the show better.

There’s also quite a bit of romance in the series. While Don cycles through a few partners, such as prosecutors and other agents, Charlie’s romantic storyline mainly revolves around Amita. This romance, however, is one that some people might find problematic. At the start of the series, Charlie is Amita’s thesis advisor, and he even says in the first episode that pursuing her is in violation of the conditions of his role. Though their relationship truly starts after Amita is out of Charlie’s mentorship, some may find this dynamic to be a bit uncomfortable given the power dynamics involved.

'Numb3rs' Is the Perfect Binge Length

When it comes to a good binge, though, perhaps the most important thing is how quickly you can get through it. Crime and mystery procedurals tend to be so long — Law & Order: SVU is 25 seasons and over 540 episodes long and Criminal Mind is 16 seasons and 334 episodes, to name a few — that they can take a while to get through unless you’re watching 10 episodes a day. Numb3rs, though, is pretty short by comparison. 6 seasons and 118 episodes feels manageable, especially when you realize that the series is complete. You’re not rushing to catch up before a new season or a series revival. You can just sit and watch, and by watch, I mean get sucked in and tell yourself “just one more!” at 11 at night on a Thursday. Probably, as you also scour a used book website for one of those books that will teach you advanced math in 30 minutes a day.

Numb3rs is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.

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