When NCIS: Los Angeles returns to audiences for Season 12, things will get slightly more complicated for LL Cool J's Sam Hanna, and not necessarily just on the professional side of things. In addition to all the hectic job duties, Sam will be seeing a lot more of his daughter Kamran again in upcoming episodes. NCIS: LA's producers have tapped All American and Star vet Kayla Smith to play an older version of Kamran than we've seen before.
As it happens, Kamran is attending the same military academy that her dad graduated from, and intends to make a name of herself in Annapolis. But don't expect all that to happen without any friction coming into play. Here's what NCIS: Los Angeles showrunner R. Scott Gemmill teased to TVLine about what fans can expect to see from Kamran's return:
We never really spent much time with his daughter, who is getting to a point where maybe she doesn’t share in the plan her father has thought she was going to take. So that creates some conflict. She’s very socially active in terms of what’s going on in the world, and clashes with her father over some of that because he feels that her involvement with things like protests could theoretically jeopardize her chance of getting into Annapolis.
It sounds like Kamran will be struggling to balance her social ideals with her future goals, especially when it comes to joining the military, since her political beliefs might not be fully in line with those of her superiors. Or even her own father. If Sam was already going to be perturbed about Kamran going off in her own direction, he's probably not going to be super in love with her joining protests and other social movements. But hopefully Sam can look at the big picture and accept the way things are without TOO much conflict.
As fans might remember, this won't be the first time that Kamran has been included in the show, though she was certainly younger the last time she popped up. Previously, The First Family's Layla Crawford had filled the role.
Kayla Smith has been added to the cast in a recurring capacity, which means we'll get to see her relationship with Sam blossom (or whatever the opposite is), but that plotline likely won't take over the majority of the season. Considering NCIS: Los Angeles is one of many TV shows whose production is being guided by COVID safety protocols, audiences might see the characters chatting on the phone or over Zoom more than we'll see them in close capacity. (Worth noting, however, is that the show's storyline will take place at a time after the pandemic has been eradicated.)
Kayla Smith began her small screen career via the reality how Meet the Smiths, as headed up by her father, former NBA great Kenny Smith, also known as The Jet. From there, she pivoted to more scripted fare, following up a bit role on Black Lightning with recurring parts on Fox's Star, OWN's Ambitions and The CW's All American, with the latter finding new life after hitting Netflix streaming. No telling if Beverly Hills High School graduated Rochelle Mosley will be returning to All American for Season 3, but her new role could make that more difficult in the future.
NCIS: Los Angeles is set to return to CBS (with Linda Hunt's Letty included) for the start of the shortened Season 12 on Sunday, November 8, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to tune in to see how Sam and Kamran mix it up, and stay tuned to our Fall TV 2020 premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way.
