The NCIS franchise is returning this fall on the 2026 TV schedule, with a new show in tow. LL Cool J will once again be returning as Special Agent Sam Hanna for the upcoming spinoff, NCIS: New York. This will mark his third NCIS series appearance since NCIS: Los Angeles ended in 2023. And he has a surprising reason for always coming back.
On the heels of NCIS: LA’s finale, the rapper joined NCIS: Hawai’i’s third season in a recurring guest spot. Then earlier this year, he returned to the Mothership, appearing in a two-episode arc. It was hard to tell if he'd ever portray Sam Hanna again on a more permanent basis, but it surprisingly didn’t take long for CBS to formally announce NCIS: New York. The actor/rapper is now in his 17th year of playing Sam, and still loves it, telling Deadline what brought him back for this new round, and why he's still as enthusiastic as ever:
Context gives the meaning to stories, you know? Seeing him in the NY setting, the NY vibes, the NY streets is gonna be interesting.
It’s going to be fun seeing Sam in this new environment. Of course, while it’s new for the fans, it’s not new to him since he is from New York. We’ve seen him in Los Angeles, in Hawaii, overseas for several cases, and in D.C. Having him in a New York setting with a new partner and new team should be fun. It definitely keeps things fresh for someone who has played the same character for nearly two decades in mostly west-coast locations.
The stories and the context are not the only reason why LL Cool J constantly comes back to Sam Hanna. He genuinely enjoys the character and the kind of person Sam is. Knowing that LL Cool J loves the role so much that he’s up for basically anything, as long as the story makes sense, just makes it all the better:
And then on top of that, like I said, he’s a superhero. This is a guy who puts his life on the line for his partners, for his friends, for the people that he loves. For his country. And I think that’s cool.
Filming for NCIS: New York has started, and I am as excited as ever to see Sam Hanna again. While the spinoff already has some haters and passionate fans of previously canceled NCIS spinoffs, the hype is certainly there. It’s hard to tell how this new show will go, especially since the only looks we’ve gotten are behind-the-scenes photos and videos. The wait will be worth it, though, and at the very least, we’ll be reuniting with a beloved character very soon.
Fans won’t have to wait too much longer for Sam Hanna’s permanent return to the NCIS franchise. NCIS: New York will officially premiere on Tuesday, October 6 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day with a Paramount+ subscription. I cannot wait to see what happens and how this new show will do compared to its predecessors.
