LL Cool J is bringing his iconic NCIS character Sam Hannah back to New York in a new spinoff series on CBS.
LL Cool J will bring Sam Hanna back to New York this fall for a new NCIS spinoff, which CBS has greenlit to air in 2026.
The legendary rapper and actor spent fourteen years portraying the character on NCIS: Los Angeles from 2009 to 2023, and now he’s bringing the character back to Sam’s hometown.
He will appear in the main NCIS series on April 21 and April 28 before the spinoff launches to bridge the transition and prepare for his character’s move to the East Coast.
Scott Caan will join him as a new character on the show, bringing his own heavyweight TV resume from his time on Hawaii Five-0 from 2010 to 2020.
The pilot was written by Scott Gemmill, who wrote all fourteen seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles and served as showrunner for seven of them.
Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, explained the creative vision in a press release, saying: “LL is like a member of our CBS family, having had a very successful pop-up gig on NCIS for the past two years. It feels like a space for Sam Hanna, who is from New York but lives in Los Angeles on NCIS: Los Angeles.”
The NCIS franchise has been going strong since 2003, and the main series will launch its 24th season this fall, along with new spinoffs.
LL Cool J’s career spans decades of entertainment success, from his early films “Krush Groove” and television roles on “In The House” from 1995 to 1999, to major films such as “Blue Water,” “Halloween H20,” “Any Give Sunday,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “S.W.A.T.” and “Mindhunter.”
His return to television’s biggest series represents another major move in his long history of balancing music and acting careers.
