INDIANAPOLIS — NBC's crime drama "The Irrational" is back for a second season.
Starring Jesse L. Martin ("Law & Order," "Rent"), the show follows a world-renowned professor of behavioral science who helps crack the world's toughest cases.
"Obviously, I have some experience in the crime genre," Martin said, referring to his nine-season run as Det. Ed Green in "Law & Order." "My prior experience has always been very localized in the law enforcement world. I'm certainly not a detective on the show — I don't even have a badge of any sort. All I have is the knowledge I have in my brain and my little notebook that helps me piece things out mathematically and scientifically."
During his time on "Law & Order," Martin said he grew as an actor while working alongside veterans like Sam Waterson, Jerry Orbach and S. Epatha Merkerson.
"I learned a lot about the work and acting, but in this case, I'm able to absolutely apply it in a more mature sense," Martin said. "Before, I was younger. I felt like I had so much to prove. Now, I feel like I have so much to say."
And "The Irrational" is based on the life of Dan Ariely and his nonfiction book, "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions."
"We've become very friendly, and he's been entirely helpful in helping me flesh the character out," Martin said. "I am nothing like the guy at all — and I think he's happy about that, and in a way, I'm happy about that, too, because I get to make it my own."
As expected, a second season raises the stakes for the show, the actors and their characters.
"You will see all the characters that you've come to love in the first season, but all the relationships become way more intense," Martin said. "The mysteries are a lot bigger in scope, and some of them, leave international spaces. Things just get bigger — a lot bigger."
The second season of "The Irrational" premieres Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, with the episode streaming the next day on Peacock.