A new NCIS is coming. That’s right, NCIS: LA & NCIS: Hawai’i’s Sam Hanna is coming back to us, and this time he’s heading to his hometown of New York. The show is set to air in the fall alongside the mothership NCIS and NCIS: Origins. So, with the news that NCIS is bringing back Michael Weatherly and NCIS: Origins, Mark Harmon, we now have three familiar faces coming back into the NCISverse next season.
This new spinoff is produced by CBS Studios and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. R. Scott Gemmill, who was a writer on all 14 seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles and is now the writer and creator of The Pitt, wrote the pilot. Byron Balasco, Adam Davidson, Kyle Harimoto, Joe Wilson, LL COOL J, and Jason Barrett serve as executive producers, with Balasco serving as showrunner. He was a writer and producer on CBS’s Without a Trace and created the series Kingdom.
But what will Sam be doing in New York? And what are the chances some of his old LA colleagues pop up for a visit? Chris O’Donnell might be headlining 9-1-1: Nashville these days, but G. Callen is alive and well, and we want to know what he’s been up to. Not to mention Kensi and Deeks! Plus, is Hetty even alive? Inquiring minds want to know.
Here’s everything we know about the new spinoff:
Cast
We already knew LL Cool J was coming back as Sam Hanna. We already knew Scott Caan was cast opposite him, playing NCIS Special Agent Nick Schaeffer. Now, we know who else makes up the cast of NCIS: New York. And what we know tells us a lot about the kind of dynamics we can expect.
We’ve watched all the other NCIS shows, after all. We know. We’ll have a ship (or two). There’ll be a found family aspect, but it’ll take a while. And yes, there’ll be action. Lots of it.
Deadline reports that Jennifer Beals (The L Word) has been cast in the show. But she’s not the only new addition. Jacqueline Byers (Salvation), Shane Harper (Power Book IV: Force), and Devin Druid (13 Reasons Why) have also been cast as series regulars. That’s probably the entire cast of series regulars, considering what we know of the makeup of other NCIS shows.
Characters
Beals is set to star as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robyn Wells, the director of the NCIS New York field office, “who leads with her intuition and is widely respected by her team.”
Byers, meanwhile, stars as NCIS Special Agent Addison “Addy” Ross, “who is a rock-solid, tough and resourceful agent with something to prove.”
Harper stars as NCIS Special Agent Wyatt Hill, “who is fearless, sharp, highly skilled in the field and a hopeless romantic.”
Druid stars as NCIS Tech Specialist Sean Sullivan, “who is witty and brilliant but resistant to authority.”
Synopsis
We also have a synopsis now, so we have an idea of what’s coming:
“In NCIS: NEW YORK, legendary NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna (LL COOL J) returns to his hometown of New York City to the NCIS field office, partnering with a roguish agent (Scott Caan) and helping lead a new team as they are tasked with high-stakes missions to defend one of the most vital cities and ports in the world,” the show’s synopsis reads.
Beals is set to star as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robyn Wells, the director of the NCIS New York field office, “who leads with her intuition and is widely respected by her team.”
Byers, meanwhile, stars as NCIS Special Agent Addison “Addy” Ross, “who is a rock-solid, tough and resourceful agent with something to prove.”
And we also have a synopsis for the first episode!
“After years of special assignments and covert ops, Special Agent Sam Hanna (LL COOL J) returns to his hometown of New York City for a brand-new mission. When Sam’s friend and Navy reservist Jack Halloway is found dead, he requests permission from Assistant Special Agent-In-Charge Robyn Wells (Jennifer Beals) to investigate his friend’s death. Robyn pairs Sam with roguish agent Nick Schaeffer (Scott Caan), who introduces him to the rest of the team: clean-cut Wyatt Sellers (Shane Harper), bright-eyed Addy Ross (Jacqueline Byers) and hacker-turned-computer guy Sean Sullivan (Devin Druid). As the team investigates Jack’s death, they work together to gather key information that can help find the culprits.”
What will make Sam stick around? We’re going to have to tune in to find out.
Will We Get a Crossover?
The answer is yes! Brian Dietzen, who plays medical examiner Jimmy Palmer on NCIS will guest-star on NCIS: New York, executive producer Byron Balasco said at CBS’s virtual press day on Wednesday, September 16. “So much of the DNA of this show was family, and we’re all in the same universe, so you can absolutely expect to see some familiar faces coming over to hang out with us for a while.”
So, Callen? “He definitely does tap in with Callen from time to time,” LL Cool J said, “so those relationships are still alive. Byron and all of us have spoken about welcoming characters from the other iterations of the franchise to New York, to be a part of what we’re doing. So I definitely welcome crossovers with all of the past characters that have been a part of this universe.”
Photos
We’ve got some pictures from the “Pilot” now, and though it’s not much, they do give us an idea of the team and the dynamics. Plus, the background looks really cool; we’re not gonna lie.
The poster has also been released:
Trailer
Yes, we’ve now got a teaser and a trailer. And it looks pretty fun; we’re not gonna lie. Refreshingly, it also looks like the dynamics are very different from what Sam had with his two other teams. We can get behind that.
So far a good 1st impression. Still gonna need plenty more info and teasers in future interviews on some important things to really form an opinion though.