The Flash’s Jesse L. Martin To Take A Medical Leave From The CW Series
by Erik Amaya
Four episodes into the fifth season of The Flash has made one thing very clear: series regular Jesse L. Martin has been sitting down a lot. Viewers began to notice and TVLine has learned the reason for Martin’s unusual take on Detective Joe West. According to the site, Martin suffered a back injury during the summer hiatus with The CW confirming the actor will be taking a medical leave of absence from the series to recover.
“We wish him a full and speedy recovery and look forward to his return as Detective Joe West,” the network said in a statement.
Since appearing on the couches at the West home and S.T.A.R. Labs’ new lounge set in the season premiere, Martin’s appearances on the show have been limited to any seemingly convenient place to have the character sitting down; though the staging became more and more conspicuous as the character is typically quite active. In last night’s episode, he was spotted leaning against the doorway of a CCPD interrogation room, but was later found on the West family sofa when granddaughter Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) asked to stay at the house he shares with Cecile Horton (Danielle Nicolet).
Reportedly, Martin’s leave of absence will be a story point in the series, but it remains to be seen how swiftly the series will catch up with Martin’s sabbatical. No matter what, we also hope he swiftly finds himself back on his feet again.
The Flash returns November 13th on The CW.