Earlier this year, we reported that Jesse L. Martin expressed his sentiments on leaving Law and Order after his nine solid years of being a part of the show.  In April, his last episode was aired, and since then, he has pursued other endeavors. While fans were sad to see him leave, some of them have been hoping that the 39-year-old actor would come back to the television screen.  Good news await a those who were optimistic, as Martin is in talks to star in an NBC midseason series.

Reuters reports that six months after he departed Law & Order, Martin is interested in coming back to work on a television series titled The Philanthropist.

The new midseason endeavor follows Teddy Rist, played by James Purefoy, a renegade billionaire who uses his assets, power and connections to help people in need all around the world.  Martin will be playing Philip Maidstone, Teddy's business partner and lifelong friend.

The production of the new series is set to be based in London through NBC Universal's international TV production unit, while filming is set for destinations such as South Africa and the Czech Republic.

Following his nine-year stint on Law & Order as Detective Ed Green, Martin took on independent projects Peter and Vandy and Silent Rhthm, and served as narrator on the Marvin Gaye documentary, What's Going On.  He will also be playing Gaye in the biopic Sexual Healing and will co-star in NBC's upcoming holiday flick, Letters to Santa, A Muppets Christmas.

NBC's Law and Order stars Alana De La Garza as Connie Rubirosa, Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy, S. Epatha Merkerson as Anita Van Buren, Fred Dalton Thompson as Arthur Branch, Jeremy Sisto as Cyrus Lupo as Milena Govich as Nina Cassady.

Catch Law & Order as it returns in 2009 with new episodes.


-Valerie Anne del Castillo, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Reuters, Zap2It
(Photo courtesy of NBC)