Just as the fall TV schedules are set to begin, NBC has released the first trailer for their new drama series, The Irrational. The show stars Law & Order actor Jesse L. Martin in the lead role as Alec Mercer, a human behavioral expert who assists law enforcement in solving high-profile cases. View the trailer below.
As a full-time professor, Martin’s Mercer lends his unique expertise to local law enforcement, helping to solve an array of cases. In the trailer, his specific analysis of behavior questions the validity of a man’s confession to murdering his girlfriend. Martin is joined by Arash DeMaxi (The L Word: Generation Q), Molly Kunz (This Is Us), Maahra Hill (Black-ish), and Travina Springer (All American).
Inspired by Dan Ariely’s (Misbelief) book Predictably Irrational, the series is written and executive-produced by Arika Lisanne Mittman (Timeless), Samuel Baum (Lie to Me), and Mark Goffman (The Umbrella Academy). David Frankel (Marley & Me) directed and serves as an executive producer. Ariely serves as a consultant for the show, which is produced by Universal Television.
The series’ mini writers’ room was organized in the fall of 2021, with a pilot ordered in February the next year. It is one of the few new scripted series airing this fall for the network. According to an NBC press release, it will join the second season of the rebooted Quantum Leap; the final episodes of rescued rebooted series, Magnum P.I.; and the new missing persons drama procedural Found, all set to premiere in October. October will also bring the Canadian medical drama Transplant for another season.
The lighter season is due to the dual labor strikes, prohibiting both writers and actors from working until a new contract has been negotiated between them and the AMPTP. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) initiated their strike on May 2. Members of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAF-AFTRA) began their strike on July 12, the same day the 2023 Emmy Award nominations were announced.
Catch The Irrational on Monday, September 25 at 9 p.m. on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.