Fresh from a run in Broadway's God of Carnage, Jimmy Smits is set to star in and act as an executive producer on the pilot for an untitled legal drama on NBC-TV, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The show, which was created by John Eisendrath and will be produced by UMS and Conaco (Conan O’Brien’s production company), “centers on a by-the-book Supreme Court Justice (Smits) who excuses himself from the bench to go into private practice and fight constitutional injustices.”

Smits also appeared on Broadway in Anna in the Tropics. Additional theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing, , Hamlet Ariano and Little Victories. He received an Emmy for “L.A. Law” and an additional 11 nominations for that show, “NYPD Blue” and “Dexter.” Additional television and film credits include “Cane,” “The West Wing,” “Backyard,” “The Jane Austen Book Club” and “Star Wars: Episodes II and III.” He will be in the upcoming film “Mother and Child.”

— Thomas Peter