Down under: New 'NCIS: Sydney' takes on a fresh case
It's certainly not uncommon for a successful series to inspire spinoffs, and other countries have gotten in on the act, with one example now helping a U.S. network's fall lineup.
"NCIS" has often been labeled "the most popular show in the world," based on its performance around the globe, but that hasn't stopped Australia from coming up with its own version. "NCIS: Sydney" has its CBS premiere Tuesday, Nov. 14, several days after getting its start in its home country.
Though the actors are likely to be as new to most U.S. viewers as the show itself, the premise will be familiar to fans, as another team of Naval Criminal Investigative Service operatives tackles cases involving members of the Navy. Marking the first time the franchise has gone global in such a way, the show may have taken a page from the "NCIS: Hawai'i" playbook by giving the squad a female leader - in this case Michelle Mackey, played by Olivia Swann. The ensemble cast also includes Todd Lasance, Sean Sagar, Tuuli Narkle, Mavournee Hazel and William McInnes.
Any show that has "NCIS" in its title should get a respectable sampling, given the proven track record of the dramas that have borne it to date. The original series' next season will be its 21st, and though original star Mark Harmon has left it (he remains on as an executive producer), the current cast has kept the ratings strong - at least by today's measure of the broadcast TV universe. Sean Murray and Brian Dietzen date back to the start of the show, as did the late David McCallum, with Gary Cole and Katrina Law among those who have joined relatively recently.
"NCIS: Los Angeles" was the first spinoff, launching in the fall of 2009 and ending last May. Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J headed the cast throughout the 14-year run, and though Linda Hunt was also a prominent star initially, her team-supervisor character Hetty was reduced to mentions or voice-overs in the show's later stages.
The filmed-on-location "NCIS: New Orleans" came next, starting in 2014 and led by Scott Bakula for its seven-season tenure. "NCIS: Hawai'i" succeeded the Big Easy-set show almost immediately, since it began in the fall of 2021, several months after the New Orleans-situated version closed up shop. Vanessa Lachey stars as Special Agent-in-Charge Jane Tennant as the series makes use of the infrastructure in the islands that CBS had set up for the "Hawaii Five-0" reboot. "Five-0" ended the year before production began on "NCIS: Hawai'i," and also made use of the "Magnum P.I." remake, which has since relocated to NBC.
"NCIS: Hawai'i" is slated to have a major remnant of the franchise's Los Angeles series when it returns for its third season, since LL Cool J will continue his role as Sam Hanna on a recurring basis. So, the "NCIS" universe continues, and its expansion to Australia marks a new chapter for it in several ways.