The NCIS franchise is showing no signs of slowing down on CBS, from its flagship series (bolstered by Cote de Pablo's return as Ziva) to its Los Angeles and New Orleans spinoffs. Which means at some point, nearly every working actor in Hollywood will have appeared on at least one of the shows. (Only slightly hyperbolic.) It looks like NCIS: Los Angeles will soon be welcoming a former NCIS recurrer, though longtime fans won't be familiar with the character.
For an upcoming episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, actress Scottie Thompson will make a grand return to the franchise in a guest-starring turn. NCIS viewers will more than likely recognize Thompson's name for her stints as the doctor Jeanne Benoit, who was a romantic foil for Michael Weatherly's Tony DiNozzo once upon a time (though definitely not anymore).
Scottie Thompson won't be reprising the Jeanne Benoit role on NCIS: Los Angeles, however. Instead, she'll be portraying the new character Sarah Raines, who works for the Defense Intelligence Agency. Her arrival on the show coincides with a mission to investigate cases of unidentified airborne sightings. It almost sounds like NCIS: Los Angeles is going to lean into its weirder and more imaginative side, though I'm 99% sure viewers won't be meeting any aliens when the episode airs.
In fact, a lot of Sarah Raines' life might remain a mystery to fans and to the NCIS agents in L.A. The character, who is referred to as a brave business-first woman in TVLine's report, has her superior go missing, so she becomes more wary about sharing information about her Defense Intelligence Agency work with anyone else. That likely makes things all the more difficult.
Scottie Thompson's first NCIS episode aired back in 2006, and she was mostly utilized throughout the fourth season, though she did have a couple of episodes that bled into the firth season. After taking a pretty lengthy hiatus, Thompson returned in 2016 for a pair of Season 13 episodes, and that was the last time fans have seen her sharing the screen with Michael Weatherly and others.
Beyond NCIS, Scott Thompson has appeared in a wide variety of TV shows across broadcast and cable networks. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her television career started off with a bit role on Law & Order, and then branched out to shows such as Brotherhood, two CSI shows, Trauma, The Blacklist, Grey's Anatomy, and Castle, which is to name only a few. While Trauma was her biggest role in terms of screen-time, NCIS is presumably what the actress is most known for in wider audiences. That said, sci-fi fans can also appreciate her for portraying Vivian Rutledge in 12 Monkeys.
Things are staying busy for NCIS stars across the entire franchise. Be sure to catch NCIS: Los Angeles back on Sunday nights on CBS starting on February 16 at 9:00 p.m ET, while the other two shows air on Tuesday evenings.
