Jesse L. Martin OF THE IRRATIONAL ON NBC

Q: I’m glad to see Jesse L. Martin back as a series star in “The Irrational.” I know he also was in “Law & Order” and “The Flash,” but has he done any other shows?

A: Yes. After appearing on the ABC daytime serial “One Life to Live” early in his career, Martin landed a starring role in the shortlived “413 Hope St.,” a seriocomic Fox show about a crisis center. He stayed with Fox for a recurring part on “Ally McBeal” during its first two seasons, then NBC’s “Law & Order” came his way, and he appeared in just under 200 episodes over eight years as Detective Ed Green.

Martin had another recurring role in the NBC musical-drama series “Smash” during its second and final season, then his next long television run – lasting the better part of a decade – with his portrayal of Joe West on The CW’s “The Flash.” Martin was cast in the “Irrational” before his “Flash” engagement ended, and he went from regular to recurring status on the superhero show so that he could begin work on “The Irrational,” on which he’s also a producer.

The fact that Martin started work early on “The Irrational” is a big reason the show was able to premiere as it normally would have at the start of the fall season, when so many other series were unable to start at the usual time because of the actors’ and writers’ strikes that prevented production from taking place. Enough “Irrational” episodes had been banked by the time the strikes began to enable the program to have the September start that it always was planned for.