1 month ago
CBS dropped a bombshell astatine its autumn 2026 schedule uncover Wednesday by announcing caller bid NCIS: New York starring LL Cool J and Scott Caan from Emmy-winning The Pitt creator R. Scott Gemmill.
This is simply a very uncommon script wherever nan lead/co-lead of 1 spinoff successful a franchise, NCIS: Los Angeles‘ LL Cool J, serves arsenic nan lead/co-lead of different spinoff successful nan aforesaid same franchise, NCIS: New York, playing nan aforesaid character, NCIS Agent Sam Hanna. The only different lawsuit that comes to mind is Law & Order: SVU‘s Christopher Meloni starring arsenic Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: Organized Crime.
NCIS: New York came together very quickly, taking astir 5 months from nan first conversations pinch LL Cool J astir it to a bid greenlight pinch a completed book that had gone done revisions, a co-lead cast, a showrunner hired — and everyone progressive locked successful pinch closed deals.
But nan accelerated pickup capped a multi-year effort by CBS and NCIS franchise shaper CBS Studios to support Sam Hanna connected TV aft NCIS: LA ended its 14-season tally successful May 2023. It resulted successful appearances by LL Cool J connected NCIS: Hawai’i and NCIS. And earlier he sets retired to prima successful NCIS: New York, nan actor-rapper will make 2 much impermanent appearances connected nan mothership later this month. They will hint astatine Sam Hanna’s caller section but are not designed to group up nan spinoff, sources said.
“There’ll beryllium immoderate lines successful location that group up New York,” LL Cool J told Deadline.
Assembling The Team
After launching 2 spinoffs during nan first 17 years of NCIS‘ run, NCIS: LA and NCIS: New Orleans, nan process has been accelerated, pinch 4 offshoots introduced complete nan past 5 years, 2 of which are still connected CBS, NCIS: Sydney and prequel NCIS: Origins.
With a attraction connected building franchises nether George Cheeks, Paramount’s Chair of TV Media who oversees CBS and CBS Studios, nan workplace has astatine slightest 1 imaginable caller installment of its main franchises successful nan useful astatine immoderate time.
Sam Hanna was identified arsenic nan taxable of an NCIS offshoot CBS Studios wanted to tackle next, and conversations pinch LL Cool J astir it started past fall, zeroing successful connected Sam’s hometown of New York arsenic setting. After coming connected board, the NCIS: LA star suggested approaching R. Scott Gemmill to constitute nan script.
Gemmill is presently flying precocious arsenic nan creator, executive shaper and showrunner of nan astir acclaimed play bid of nan past year, HBO Max’s The Pitt. But earlier he teamed up pinch John Wells and Noah Wyle connected nan Emmy and Golden Globe-winning aesculapian drama, Gemmill was a writer-executive shaper connected NCIS: Los Angeles for its full 14-season tally and, aft serving arsenic No. 2 to creator, executive shaper and showrunner Shane Brennan for nan first 7 seasons, he took complete erstwhile Brennan stepped down successful 2016. Gemmill remained astatine nan helm for nan pursuing 7 seasons, and he and LL Cool J person stayed close.
With CBS Studios President David Stapf, CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach and their boss, Cheeks, each aligned, Gemmill was approached conscionable earlier Christmas.
“They came to maine and said that they were reasoning astir doing an NCIS: New York pinch Todd, and I said, I’m in. That’s each it takes,” Gemmill said astatine CBS’ upfront statement Wednesday night, referring to LL Cool J by his existent mediate sanction which he uses successful individual interactions.
As to why Gimmell agreed truthful quickly, “Todd’s from New York, truthful it was great. And it’s arsenic if his characteristic is going backmost home, arsenic if Todd himself is going backmost home,” he said. “New York is nan burning halfway of nan universe, truthful I was conscionable excited and happy to beryllium asked to beryllium a portion of it. And I jumped astatine nan chance.”
LL Cool J, who is bi-coastal, was calved and raised successful New York. While nonstop filming location has not been locked in, NCIS: New York is expected to sprout successful and astir New York.
Gimmell wrote nan first draught of nan book during his Christmas break from The Pitt before going backmost to nan show, which is wrapping its Season 2 tally connected HBO Max this week, pinch Season 3 accumulation slated to statesman successful June.
As nan draught underwent refinement, conversations started focusing connected nan co-lead character. Like connected NCIS: LA, wherever Sam Hanna was collaborated pinch Grisha Callen (Chris O’Donnell), connected NCIS: New York he will person a partner too.
Per nan charismatic logline for nan caller offshoot, NCIS Agent Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) returns to his hometown of New York City to their section office, partnering pinch a roguish supplier (Caan) and helping lead a caller squad arsenic they are tasked pinch high-stakes missions to take sides 1 of nan world’s astir captious cities and ports.
“It’s gonna beryllium a batch of fun, a batch of sarcasm, batch of banter, batch of witty repartees, batch of New York,” LL Cool J told Deadline connected nan CBS upfront statement reddish carpet. “It’s gonna beryllium everything you request to get.”
After uncovering themselves many times describing nan perfect character for nan partner domiciled arsenic a Scott Caan-type, CBS and CBS Studios executives decided to scope retired to nan prototype himself. Caan antecedently starred connected different CBS/CBS Studios procedural, Hawaii Five-0, and lives successful New York.
Asked by Deadline astatine nan Paramount upfront statement if it was difficult for him to opportunity yes to doing NCIS: New York with LL Cool J, Caan said, “It was difficult to opportunity no.”
LL Cool J and Caan antecedently starred together successful an NCIS: LA-Hawaii Five-0 crossover, making for a meta history arsenic Caan played a different character, Danno, alongside LL Cool J’s Sam Hanna successful it.
“It’s called acting,” LL Cool J quipped astir Caan’s situation of switching characters other Sam.
The duo showed bully camaraderie stepping nan reddish carpet and hanging retired astatine nan parties for CBS and Paramount’s upfront events this week. And yes, their important tallness quality is addressed correct disconnected nan bat successful nan aviator pinch a joke.
Conversations pinch Caan were already underway erstwhile different cardinal portion of nan imaginative squad came together conscionable a period agone when, upon proposal from CBS Studios’ Stapf and EVP Bryan Seabury, Kingdom creator Byron Balasco was approached to travel connected committee arsenic showrunner. (Gemmill was ne'er an action since he has a full-time showrunner occupation connected The Pitt, which produces 15 episodes a year.)
“I really first met Byron erstwhile he was a writer connected Without a Trace and I was a babe executive, and I’m delighted to invited him into nan franchise,” Reisenbach, who was a CBS existent executive earlier becoming intermezo president, said of nan erstwhile writer-producer connected nan network’s 2002 missing persons procedural.
Balasco will apt constitute nan 2nd section of NCIS: New York, which has received a 20-episode bid I hear, but things are still TBD arsenic nan last deals were conscionable precocious completed to denote nan bid this week.
Despite his engaged schedule, Gemmill hopes to enactment involved.
“Byron Balasco is going to beryllium moving nan show, and I will thief retired arsenic overmuch arsenic I can,” he said.
Extending nan Streak
During nan unveiling of nan autumn 2026 CBS schedule, Reisenbach utilized suspense for melodramatic effect, leaving nan 9 PM slot successful nan Tuesday lineup blank for a fewer moments earlier announcing NCIS: New York pinch aplomb, expressing glee astir nan web being capable to support nan task a secret. (It was a concerted effort, pinch accusation astir nan offshoot kept wrong a mini circle passim nan process.)
The blank abstraction besides serves arsenic a bully metaphor, arsenic NCIS: New York is bringing successful a “missing piece” to nan 2026-27 schedule — a caller franchise extension.
In each of nan past 3 seasons, CBS introduced offshoots of an existing series. While caller non-franchise entries complete that play person had various degrees of success; some, for illustration Tracker and Matlock, person go hits, while some, for illustration Watson and DMV, person been canceled, each beingness extensions launched since are still astir and doing well.
That was highlighted earlier successful nan CBS schedule position erstwhile Cheeks touted nan network’s ratings capacity pinch a descent of nan astir watched caller broadcast bid for nan past 5 seasons. (CBS had nan No.1 show successful each season.)
There were 2 franchise extensions each launched successful 2023-24 and 2024-25, finishing arsenic No.2 (Elsbeth) and No.3 (NCIS: Sydney) down No.1 Tracker successful 2023-24, and arsenic No.2 (Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage) and No. 5 (NCIS: Origins) down No. 1 Matlock successful 2024-25.
The stat for nan existent 2025-26 play is beautiful staggering: CBS is claiming nan apical 4 caller bid successful full viewers this season, each of them offshoots: Marshals (No.1), Sheriff Country (No.2), Boston Blue (No.3) and CIA (No.4).
Before nan NCIS: New York announcement, CBS was going to spell from 4 to 0 caller franchise titles arsenic CBS had picked up 3 caller bid for adjacent season, 2 of them original concepts, play Cupertino and comedy Eternally Yours, and 1 adjustment of an world format, play Einstein.
With NCIS: New York, nan streak of adding astatine slightest 1 caller franchise offshoot has been extended to 4 seasons. The caller spinoff, scheduled straight aft nan mothership bid connected Tuesdays, besides allows for earthy crossovers, sought aft by networks for their large ratings potential. That is thing CBS had not been capable to do pinch NCIS recently arsenic Origins is group successful a different clip play and Sydney connected a different contented pinch its accumulation connected a different timeline.
NCIS: New York also extends LL Cool J’s tenure arsenic Sam Hanna, a characteristic he has been playing for 17 years. Why has he stuck pinch him for truthful long?
“He’s a superhero,” LL Cool J told Deadline. “This is simply a feline who puts his life connected nan statement for his partners, for his friends, for nan group that he loves, for his country, and I deliberation that’s cool.”
