NCIS: Hawai’i's third season is so close to airing on the 2024 TV schedule, and Tennant and her team aren’t the only characters fans can look forward to seeing. After making a special appearance in the Season 2 finale, it was revealed that NCIS: Los Angeles star LL Cool J will continue playing Special Agent Sam Hanna in a recurring guest role in the upcoming season of Hawai’i. A first look at the season premiere was recently released, making it all the more real that Sam Hanna is coming back. Now, Vanessa Lachey is opening up about what it’s been like having the rapper back in the franchise.
While it’s unknown how many episodes LL Cool J will be in, he will be making his grand return in the Season 3 premiere on February 12. Since Sam will be helping out Tennant and the team every once in a while, it will surely be interesting to see those dynamics. However, Lachey told TV Insider that the OSP member will be making some waves in Hawai'i, both good and bad:
Sam rocks the entire team in good and bad ways. It’s going to make us all question a lot of things, and it’s going to evolve us all into a different layer and level.
In the Season 3 premiere, Sam will be surprising Tennant as he will be conducting her last interview that she has to do before she’s cleared for duty. He will also be jetting off to Vegas with Tennant when there’s a breach in the U.S. Marshals' database. It sounds like he will be shifting the team’s dynamic, which has been working out pretty well so far. Los Angeles and Hawai’i have had pretty different cases, and seeing how Sam acclimates to the island will be something to look forward to.
Even despite NCIS: LA coming to an end, the fact that LL Cool J’s character is still going to be a big part of the franchise proves that it’s never the end for any character. This will allow Sam Hanna to grow even more, and hopefully, we'll get updates on his teammates back in the City of Angels.
Lachey previewed that Sam and Tennant will grow close and lean on one another this season, saying:
I love that NCIS: Hawai’i talks about the personal side of our work relationship and how that drives everyone. Because at the end of the day, you go home, you take your shoes off, and you lay in bed, and we are all human, and that’s what makes us tick. It’s our heart, it’s our mind. It’s all of that frustration, vengeance, love, sadness, hurt. And that’s really what we’re hitting at here. And I’m interested to see where it takes LL’s character because right now, without giving away too much, he’s a lot of the rock for us. I need to lean on him. Of course, I don’t tell my team that. And then at some point, we got to see the softer side of Sam.
Fans have seen Sam and the Honolulu team working together before with the three-way NCIS crossover, so this will be a fun return for them. Now that he will be collaborating with them more and really getting to know them, it sounds like they will be digging into the nitty gritty both personally and professionally, and I'm so excited to see it all.
Since NCIS: Hawai’i is part of CBS’ highly-anticipated premiere week following the Super Bowl, fans won’t have to wait very long to see what happens and how Sam shakes up the team. Make sure to tune in on Monday, February 12 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS to see what happens.
