LL Cool J Reports for Duty Again as NCIS Opens Its New York Office

LL Cool J is back as Senior Special Agent Sam Hanna. He leads CBS's new spinoff, meaning a new series built from an existing one, NCIS: New York, which debuts on 6 October at 9/8c, according to CBS listings. Variety CBS

The badge is familiar. The city is new. The 20-episode season airs weekly on Tuesdays after its launch. The series was created by R. Scott Gemmill, who also created The Pitt.

The new team works out of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service office at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. That address matters for Hanna. New York City is his hometown, and the organisation that specialises in Navy and Marine Corps cases has now posted him there.

Hanna does not work alone. He partners with Nick Schaeffer, played by Scott Caan, per CBS character details. Jennifer Beals plays Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Robyn Wells, the unit's senior supervisor. The squad includes Jacqueline Byers as Special Agent Addison "Addy" Ross, Shane Harper as Special Agent Wyatt Sellers and Devin Druid as Sean Sullivan. Variety

Viewers know Hanna well. LL Cool J played the former Navy SEAL through all 14 seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles, which wrapped its run three years earlier. He later appeared in both the flagship NCIS series and the NCIS: Hawai'i spinoff, keeping the character inside the franchise between regular postings.

NCIS: New York extends a franchise that CBS continues to programme across its schedule, including NCIS: Sydney. For returning viewers, the set-up is simple. Same investigator. New city. New team around him.

For fans, this means a weekly Tuesday slot to follow. One case at a time, with Hanna back at the centre of the room.