CBS Fall Lineup Debuts NCIS Los Angeles Spinoff

Two Recent NCIS Episodes Introduce Backstory and Stars of New Show

Jun 9, 2009

Headlined by Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J, NCIS: LA follows the original show to focus CBS Tuesday prime time on drama in contrast with other networks' reality shows.

Masters of the franchise approach to producing spinoffs that exploit a successful original concept into multiple story platforms, CBS appears to be at it again with its new NCIS: Los Angeles. Its fall debut directly following the original series triggers speculation about how far the network will spin out this thread and whether it will develop into a new programming powerhouse or simply become a one-off with an interesting twist.

Counterprogramming Other Networks – CBS Dramas like NCIS LA against Reality TV

No stranger itself to reality television with its Amazing Race and Big Brother, CBS now apparently sees an opportunity to throw drama directly at its competitors’ reality programming. “We’re up against a lot of reality shows and there are a lot of options there, but if you want to watch scripted drama there aren’t really many options and NCIS: Los Angeles is going to be one of them,” executive producer Shane Brennan told C21tv.com.

The question is, could it become the new CSI? “It’s possible that over the course of seasons these shows can build into franchises,” Brennan said. “What we are trying to do, I guess, with NCIS: Los Angeles is to test the audience to see if they like the idea of seeing more about NICS than they’ve seen with the classic NCIS. Are there other franchise possibilities? Absolutely. NCIS is a fascinating organization.”

NCIS LA Features Young Cast with Veterans Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J plus New Faces

A spinoff itself from the earlier CBS hit JAG, NCIS crafted a corps of characters around Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, coolly played by Mark Harmon. Built on the concept of an NCIS branch called the Office of Special Projects, NCIS: Los Angeles seems to focus the lead on O’Donnell’s character, Special Agent G. Callen, described as a chameleon who can wriggle through the seams and infiltrate even the tightest underworld cells.

The undercover team is rounded out by LL Cool J as Special Agent Sam Hanna, a former SEAL with combat experience in the Middle East, and Special Agent Kensi Lo, played by Daniela Ruah. A Ducky-like character, Operational Psychologist Nate Getz played by Peter Cambor, profiles terrorist targets and predicts behavioral intent in real time as special ops situations reach the sticking point. The team also has a nerd counterpart, Eric Beal portrayed by Barrett Foa, whose high-tech toys impress even McGee.

Curiously, Special Agent Lara Macy, the team’s Gibbs equivalent played in the teaser episodes by Louise Lombard of CSI fame, is no longer listed on the show’s roster. Reports say the character is being recast before the fall rollout.

Sporting a den of technology that makes the Multiple Threat Alert Center (MTAC) in the classic NCIS pale in comparison, NCIS: Los Angeles story lines emphasize point-of-the-spear undercover ops supported by real-time high-tech surveillance wizardry and street teams of foot soldiers using spy-like tradecraft to back up the special agents.

Working exclusively to outfox the bad guys before they can stage a terrorist attack and with the threat of death ever imminent, the show so far is less a whodunit procedural and more a military spy thriller with an adrenaline kicker.

Apparently that’s the gist of the program’s future. The official CBS backstory describes the OSP as the NCIS division tasked with apprehending dangerous criminals who pose a threat to national security. Though the producers indicate the scripted drama is intended as escapist TV to help viewers forget the current inhospitable economic environment and other rude realities, its parallels with recent world events suggests an opportunity to hope, at least vicariously, that even with today’s hostilities all can still work out right in the end.

But, as in the real world, it doesn’t come without a price. After the team takes out a sleeper cell about to mount a terror attack, the last moments of the final teaser episode begin to resolve benignly. Seconds later, badly wounded in a drive-by hit, Callen lies unconscious in Hanna’s arms. Dialog between Gibbs and Fornell in a subsequent NCIS episode hints that Callen recovers. If the first fall episode springboards from that dramatic tension there can be no doubt that more high-tech clear and present danger, accompanied by plenty of shoot-’em-up gunplay, will remain constant threats in NCIS: Los Angeles.

NCIS: Los Angeles airs on CBS Tuesday nights at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, following classic NCIS at 8:00. The premiere date is expected to be in late September.

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