A new chapter of the NCIS franchise has officially begun, and just two episodes into the new season, NCIS: New York is already making strides in carving out its own place within the expansive franchise.
The first two episodes of the series have laid a lot of groundwork in bringing fans into the world of the New York office and helping to establish the team dynamics for the newest addition to the franchise. As the series continues to find its footing, there's still plenty to explore, from the evolving relationships between its central characters to the grittier side of New York City that will help set the show apart from its predecessors.
We've only just begun to scratch the surface of these new characters, and there is still a lot for the fans to learn about the leaders of the team, which of course includes both new and familiar faces. Fans are thrilled to have LL Cool J back as Sam Hanna in a series that not only serves as a homecoming to the NCIS franchise but also for the character who is finally back in the place that molded him into the man he is today.
During New York Comic Con, Hidden Remote was caught up with stars LL Cool J, Scott Caan, and Jennifer Beals for roundtable-style interviews in which the cast teased what's to come as the season continues, including new details about where the episodes ahead will take their characters and potential crossover with the broader NCIS franchise.
You said that this show is a little bit about Sam's redemption story for Sam. What do you mean by that?
LL Cool J: So there are these things about Sam that we didn't discuss in LA. I don't know that he left New York on bad terms, but he left, and there is unfinished business and different things that he will be returning to, and there are people, and there are places and things that will come up. I think it is a fun journey. It'll make the journey a little more compelling for people.
Does this city have a way of challenging him even more?
LL: I think he's going to be challenging even more. We have a leader, you know; Robin Wells is the leader. He comes in as a guy who has been writing his own ticket doing special ops and undercover ops around the world, and now he's getting back to having a partnership.
Your pairing can either go one way or the other, right? You guys can drive yourselves crazy, or you can be the best pairing ever. Without giving any spoilers, what path do you think you're going towards?
LL: We’re going to go insane, bro. We’re going insane, baby.
Scott Caan: I think that's the beauty and the fun part about doing a show like this. You don't know, you know, and it's going to develop how it develops. [Our showrunner] Bryon [Balasco]’s a really smart writer; he’s just going to watch and see what to bring to it, and it’ll evolve and keep evolving. I mean, to me that's the fun part about doing a show that could run 5 or 10 years.
LL: I think we’re just letting it flow and embracing that energy and having a good time with it and not even trying to look for a thing.
Jennifer Beals: I would argue that flow is as engaging as any kind of fiction. Like it doesn't have to be friction to be engaging. Just that the way that these two people who seem so different connect is also really, I think, engaging.
You’ve, of course, been part of some iconic pairings, whether within the NCIS franchise or Hawaii Five-0. Was there anything you were really cognizant of as you were approaching this dynamic to make it unique from past duos, or was there maybe inspiration you pulled from past pairings you’ve been part of?
Caan: I don't know if you can think about it like if you approach something trying not to do something or trying to be unique or anything like that. We immediately got a kick out of each other, made each other laugh, and we're like, "Let's do that on screen," and I think that maybe the headbutting thing might be a little bit of a cliche, and instinctively a writer might go, “That's what they should do,” but you know, like I said, we’ve got a really smart showrunner and really smart writers, and we just use what we have, and it just happens to be two people that enjoy each other's company. I’m sure we're going to argue about things, and that's good, but yeah.
Jennifer, you’ve got eight episodes under your belt. Are we going to see Robin in the field?
Beals: No, I have too much to do in the office. I may have a shotgun under my desk. I don't know, but I've got a lot to do. I have this beautiful, very accomplished team for that purpose, as well as other people in the office. There are so many things for me to do, you know, maybe under duress because [LL’s] looking at me going, "Yes, it's going to happen," and I'm like, "I'm an indoor cat so far."
Robin was an attorney, but you have to have the training, and certainly there is training in her past that would allow her to do that and she has a real understanding of various aspects of this job and this agency, but right now Robin has a lot to do that involves being a point guard for several different teams.
I may be the point guard, but when the play starts, they're all leaders. They all have to be leaders; they all have to take responsibility for the moment in which they find themselves, and I want to cultivate a team that can lead at the drop of a hat because I may not always be there so somebody needs to always be able to pick up the gauntlet.
LL: And Robin thus far has told us what she wants us to do; she's never told us how we need to do it. And so that leaves a lot of freedom for us to take the initiative and to lead outside of the office individually, but while still paying attention to her ultimate goal and getting done what she wants us to get done.
Jennifer, you've teased that maybe there's something more to like Robin and Sean's connection and like how he's come to the agency. Can you tease how that maybe will unfold?
Beals: No, I want you to really watch, but they're more similar as humans than you would think. I think Robin is pretty masterful at masking because you need to as a leader, like you can't just bring everything to the office; it doesn't serve the team, and it doesn't serve you. You'll see that she really is in his corner. Like she sees him in a way that others don't see him quite yet, but she sees him.
LL: One thing that was really important to me, and I'm glad, and I believe Byron accomplished it, having fully formed human beings that really have a real POV. They may have job descriptions that fit with this kind of an environment, but they're not clichés: they are who they are, and I think that that's a lot of fun. I like the fact that Nick is who he is. It's just like with Scott, like Scott is who he is, like Jennifer is who she is. I am who I am, and when we connect, there's something really interesting about that because I get to meet a new person with new thoughts. The characters need to be that way too. We all can see ourselves in someone in the show, like there's someone that you can see yourself in.
LL, you've had such a unique privilege of getting to work with so many members of the NCIS family over the years. Is there anyone you haven't had the chance to work with on any of those spin-offs that you'd love to see come play in this world of NCIS: New York?
LL: Well, I didn't play a lot with a lot of the New Orleans cast, but I'm open to the whole universe, man. I'm not closed off to any of it. I really want us to have fun. I want us to get up and running, but then we're open to the universe. I think that gives us so much possibility to just have so much fun. We can have a Tuesday night with all three shows in a row. It just makes it more fun for the fans.
Sort of an actual crossover that you're on record as being very, very, very open to. Are we going to get just like a little line, like one end of a phone call, where we find out that Callan had a son or a daughter, anything like that?
LL: Oh, without a doubt we've had some things like that already. Actually some of that didn’t make the cut. We're not looking to divorce myself from those relationships. Like I want to keep those things going.
As we wrap up, is there anything you’re really excited for the fans to see as we get deeper into the season?
LL: I honestly want them to have a really cool experience. That's something that we haven't really ever leaned into a lot in the universe. We always had fun, and it was always cool in a fun way, but I don't think we've ever delved into the grittier aspects of life. Obviously there have been some horrific crimes, but just the grittier, edgier aspects of New York, I think it's going to be fun for people. I think they'll enjoy that.
Beals: I think also people are going to sense how much fun we have with each other. The cast, we really like get such a kick out of each other, and I think it comes through in the scenes.
NCIS: New York airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS!
Add us as a preferred source on Google