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'The Flash' star Jesse L. Martin set to think outside the box in new NBC series 'The Irrational'
He knows you better than you know yourself.
The Flash will be ending after a truncated ninth season next year, leaving its primary cast in the proverbial employment line, but at least one cast member already has their next gig lined up. Jesse L. Martin, known for roles as Detective Ed Green in Law & Order, Tom Collins in the 2005 film adaptation of Rent, and of course his long-running stint as Joe West on The Flash, will helm the ship of the upcoming NBC drama The Irrational.
The series is loosely based on the book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, written by Dan Ariely and published by HarperCollins in 2008. Ariely’s book examines common situations and modes of thinking which can lead to undesirable outcomes and attempts to teach readers to recognize those variables in their own lives. The end goal is to see the ways in which we behave irrationally and amend our actions to achieve better outcomes.
NBC ordered a pilot based on the book in February of this year and announced today they are taking the show to series, via The Hollywood Reporter. While details about the series are sparse, it appears to take the teachings of Ariely’s book and embody them in a sort of modern-day reimagining of Sherlock Holmes.
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Martin plays Alec Baker, a world renowned professor of behavioral science who steps in as an outside consultant to assist governments, corporations, and law enforcement with unusual high-stakes scenarios, using his unique ability to read and understand human behavior. The ability to understand what a person is doing it, why they are doing it, and how to make them do something else, does sound like a useful superpower, but we can’t imagine it helps makes a lot of friends.
Martin stars alongside Maahra Hill (Black-ish, The L Word: Generation Q), Travina Springer (Ms. Marvel, We Bare Bears), Molly Kunz (Chicago Fire), and Arash DeMaxi (The Blacklist, The Equalizer) in a story penned by Arika Lisanne Mittman (La Brea, Dexter).
The creative team also includes David Frankel (Inventing Anna, Band of Brothers) in the director’s chair, as well as Mark Goffman (The Umbrella Academy, Limitless) and Samuel Baum (Lie to Me) as executive producers. Ariely will also serve as consultant, to ensure that the fictional Professor Baker continues to see what the rest of us can’t.
A release date for The Irrational hasn’t yet been announced, but you can get your Jesse L. Martin fix with nine seasons of Law & Order, now streaming on Peacock.
