Jussie Smollett's legal troubles are far from over ... but it looks as though he's working overtime to get his career back on track.

The troubled actor was seen reuniting with "Empire" showrunner Brett Mahoney ... with the duo sharing a hug Thursday outside Crossroads Kitchen in Los Angeles.

The sighting triggered speculation of a possible future collab ... though any TV comeback is realistically a long way off for Jussie as he deals with his personal and legal worries.

Sources told us just before Xmas ... Jussie was still in the midst of a rehab stint for substance abuse ... after checking himself into an outpatient facility in back in October.

He recently lost his appeal after being convicted for lying to cops about the fake Chicago hate crime attack back in 2019.

Jussie's lawyers say they'll continue their fight in the Illinois Supreme Court, although there's no guarantee the Court will hear the case.

If the Court turns thumbs down on hearing the case, Jussie could return to jail as soon as January to complete his 150 day sentence ... he's only served 6 days.

Nonetheless, it looks like Jussie's putting in the work on bettering himself ... and was even spotted reading Matthew Perry's book on his substance abuse battle earlier this month.