Three decades later, Jimmy Smits is back in the TV courtroom

It was 33 years ago that television audiences were introduced to Jimmy Smits in his groundbreaking, star-making role as the passionate, principled public defender-turned-top-dollar defense attorney Victor Sifuentes on “L.A. Law,” one of the first highly visible, uber-successful and multidimensional Latino faces to regularly grace the small screen.

Today, Smits’ new series “Bluff City Law” brings him back to TV courtrooms on a steady basis for the first time in over a quarter century (after excursions into the pay cable and boutique networks landscapes, it also brings him back to “L.A. Law’s” home network, NBC). The power suits are still expensive and the billing hours are stratospheric, and the principals remain largely in place. With the accumulated gravitas he’s earned over the course of three decades, Smits plays Elijah Strait, an elite, revered Memphis civil rights attorney who’s recently added his canny, crusading and once-estranged daughter Sydney (Caitlin McGee) to his firm.

“His character energy is a lot different than the bouncy, idealistic Victor Sifuentes — forget about the fabulous 27 years or something in between,” Smits tells CNN with a chuckle. “He is a pillar of the legal community, not only because he’s older, but also the types of cases that he’s handled and the significance of his work in the community. It just spoke to me in terms of what his energy needs to be, at least on the outside, because TV’s kind of fluid: different things can happen, but you need to feel like he’s a rock.”

It’s the moments that the rock may not always be as solid as expected that create ripples “for the other concentric circle that’s very important in this drama, which is the firm — which is a family just as much as the father and daughter relationship.” Indeed. Elijah has kept a few crucial secrets from Sydney in particular, further complicated by the recent passing of her mother, that promise to create as much drama outside the courtroom as within

“Because of the jump-off point of the loss and grief that we’re dealing with, we’re going to have to cover an emotional terrain that’s going to be a rollercoaster ride, in a lot of different ways,” says Smits, who calls McGee “a super talented actor that’s very emotionally grounded and appreciative of the written word.”

At this juncture in his long and fruitful career — a trajectory that’s included stints on some of the most acclaimed and boundary-broadening television shows in the medium, including “NYPD Blue,” “The West Wing,” “Dexter” and “Sons of Anarchy,” as well as high-profile film roles including the “Star Wars” saga’s Bail Organa, father to Princess Leia — Smits admits he’s often been approached for roles on straightforward procedural dramas.

“I definitely, definitely, definitely have, and at some point, I was like, ‘All right, well, maybe that’s what we’re talking about in terms of the TV landscape,'” he says. “I think there’s room for that, certainly on international levels, procedural shows, they sell big time.”

But in “Bluff City Law’s” fractured family dynamic he saw room for something more. “There’s a place where you can have character development and still have a procedural aspect to the show, which we have, in terms of a case every week … and they can coexist together.”

He especially eager for members of the supporting cast to catch more of the spotlight as the series unfolds.

“The show on a larger level has a diversity, not only in the writer’s room — which we really lobbied for — but in terms of our cast, that’s more reflective of what this country is,” says Smits. “We’re going to be dealing with those kinds of things with a very dynamic, versatile, diverse cast. So I’m all for that.”

While being Latinx and at the center of a broadcast network series isn’t quite the revolutionary act it was in the ’80s, three decades later it’s still a strong step forward, even if Smits feels a sense of déjà vu when the topic is broached.

“I remember every six or seven years, there was a [headline]: ‘Oh, is this going to be the decade of the Latino?’ Because there’s a new show film that came out, a music phenomenon that happened, whether it be Ricky Martin or J-Lo,” he recalls.

Now, while Latinos gain increasingly better representation on screen, new questions arise.

“The population numbers are now undeniable now, in terms of how we are woven into the fabric of what this country is and how we deal on a daily basis,” he says. “How do we interface with pop-culture?”

Smits is also marking 25 years since he joined the cast of Stephen Bochco and David Milch’s redefining cop drama “NYPD Blue” in 1994, stepping into the co-leading role of Det. Bobby Simone opposite Dennis Franz’s Andy Sipowicz in the wake of first season star David Caruso’s controversial departure.

“I thought I hit the jackpot with ‘L.A. Law,’ but to have [‘NYPD Blue’] come around the way it did,” says Smits, recalling how he was nearly involved with the series from its inception until various vagaries of Hollywood interfered. “For whatever the artistic reasons were, it didn’t happen, and then it wound up that it came back to me. It was just like, I can’t [say no]. That was like ‘Lightning can’t struck twice.'”

He would play the role for five seasons as the series pushed network limits in terms of language, nudity and adult content, and it and fix his television legacy in stone. “Just to know that you were involved in something groundbreaking that pushed the envelope of television, to be able to say David Milch’s words and to take that rollercoaster ride with that cast of characters is going to be a high point in my life,” he says.

As for the other highly regarded series he’s been a part of, Smits insists he doesn’t have an special radar for what’s going to hit with audiences.

“I’ve been lucky — I count my lucky stars,” he says. “To me, it’s always been what’s on a page, and I tend to function better in an ensemble kind of vibe, so it’s not a surprise to me that the things I’ve been involved with that have been very successful have been ensemble pieces as well.”

He’s learned to value experiences that came from the projects that didn’t catch fire, as well.

“I had the great fortune to work with Gregory Peck, and he was really adamant to talk about, ‘Well, if three out of five [hit], that’s not a bad thing,'” he says. “You learn so much from the disappointments as well…So valuable, in terms of what I learned about television, about producorial aspects of it, so it’s all part of what your tapestry is.”

He points to a pair of particular heroes who he feels set the table for his own successes.

“I reference James Earl Jones and Raul Julia a lot, because their careers gave me permission to aspire,” he says. “And I’m glad that I was able to tell both of them that they really significantly influenced me. One of the reasons I’m an actor is because of the impact of their work.”

Asked if he’s received similar sentiments from a younger generation of actors, he nods.

“It’s happened a couple times,” he admits. “But I’ve had many more conversations with people that are lawyers because of the influence of ‘L.A. Law.’ So I hope we can get a new regeneration of that happening with this show.”