NBC Orders Drama Pilot to Series
Jesse L. Martin is returning to NBC, 14 years after he cracked his last case on Law & Order. Martin's new series, The Irrational, finally received a series order from the peacock network. The procedural is based on the book Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. NBC has not announced when The Irrational will debut.
The Irrational stars Martin as Alec Baker, a world-renowned professor of behavioral science. He offers his skills to different government agencies, law enforcement agents, and corporations for high-stakes cases. Baker has a unique and unexpected approach to understanding human behavior. The main cast also features Maahra Hill (OWN's Delilah), Travina Springer (Ms. Marvel), Molly Kunz (Chicago Fire), and Arash DeMaxi (Partner Track), notes Deadline.
The series was created by Arika Lisanne Mittman (La Brea), who also wrote the pilot. Mittman is an executive producer with Mark Goffman and Samuel Baum. David Frankel directed the pilot and is an executive producer. Martin is also a producer on the pilot. The series comes from Universal Television.
NBC ordered The Irrational pilot back in February, which led Martin to take a reduced role in the final season of The CW's DC Comics series The Flash. Martin played Joe West in the first eight seasons and is expected to make only a handful of appearances in Season 9. The Flash returns on Feb. 8.
Martin is best known for playing New York City Police Detective Ed Green on Law & Order. He played the part from 1999 to 2008, making his final appearance in Season 18. Martin also originated the role of Tom Collins in the Broadway musical Rent and reprised the part in the 2005 film adaptation.
Longtime Law & Order fans were disappointed when Martin was not asked to return for the revival, but he said he was open to returning if asked. "I couldn't possibly say. I certainly hope so," Martin said on CBS' The Talk in February. "There were a lot of loose ends when Ed Green left the scene if you will. Yes, maybe."
While there are no immediate plans for Martin to return to Law & Order, the show's revival still includes original series star Sam Waterston as D.A. Jack McCoy. Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order: Organized Crime return on Jan. 5 on NBC. Many of Martin's best Law & Order seasons are available to stream on Peacock.