At this point, LL Cool J has become as much of the face of the NCIS franchise as Mark Harmon has.
asserted
Harmon → become → franchise
After starring in NCIS: Los Angeles for 14 years, his character, Sam Hanna, appeared frequently in the show’s Hawaii edition.
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character → star → edition
Now he’s starring in a new spinoff, this one taking place in Sam’s (and LL’s) hometown of New York.
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he → star → York
NCIS Special Agent Sam Hannah (LL Cool J) is in the middle of a solo operation and his phone is ringing.
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phone → ring → operation
But by the time Sam can return his calls, the man is dead.
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man → return → calls
Because the man is a Navy reservist, NCIS’ New York bureau, led by ASAC Robyn Wells (Jennifer Beals), gets the case.
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bureau → lead → case
But Sam, who has been on solo missions for NCIS since his time in Los Angeles, tells Wells that he needs to be involved in this investigation, because he doesn’t think it’s the suicide it appears to be.
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it → tell → investigation
Sam is introduced to Agents Nick Schaeffer (Scott Caan), Addy Ross (Jacqueline Byers) and Wyatt Hill (Shane Harper), and computer specialist Sean Sullivan (Devin Druid).
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Sam → introduce → Schaeffer
And while ASAC Wells thinks that Sam is too close to this case, she pairs him with Nick, anyway.
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she → think → Nick
As they investigate the case, Nick starts to think that the victim was involved in something shady, but Sam, who worked with the victim’s father, insists he wasn’t.
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he → investigate → father
As the elements of the case come together and involve the operator of the tugboat the victim worked on, Nick starts to think that Sam should join the New York office.
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Sam → come → office
Given that both are Big Apple natives, he feels he can appeal to Sam on that level.
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he → give → level
But Sam has some doubts.
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Sam → have → doubts
What Shows Will It Remind You Of?
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It → remind → You
Actually, given that LL Cool J is in it, it could be considered a spin-off of NCIS: Los Angeles, on which he starred for 14 seasons.
uncertain
he → give → seasons
R. Scott Gemmill, the creator of NCIS: New York, knows the NCIS formula pretty well, and his time on the LA spinoff also means he knows Sam Hanna well.
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he → know → Hanna
So, even though franchise first-timer Byron Belasco is the showrunner here, there’s no evidence that New York is going to stray from the franchise’s quarter-century-old formula.
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York → ’ → formula
That means a lot of smart-ass dialogue, people staring at scrolling text on computer monitors, and lots of chases, gunfire, and hand-to-hand combat.
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That → mean → hand
We say that as if it’s a bad thing, but we’re actually okay with New York feeling the same as every other franchise entry, albeit with New York locations (helpfully IDed by graphics before each scene) changing the visual landscape.
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locations → say → landscape
It starts with the crackling chemistry that LL and Caan have as soon as they share the screen together.
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they → start → screen
Caan’s funny tough-guy style, which he honed on Hawaii Five-O for ten seasons, fits perfectly in the NCIS universe.
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he → hone → universe
there’s a semi-improvisational feel to his scenes with LL that will make fans of the franchise feel immediately comfortable.
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fans → ’ → franchise
Yes, the case in the pilot is a bit suspicious and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
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case → make → sense
But that is something that will vary from episode to episode.
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that → vary → episode
Though we wish a bit more for Jennifer Beals, who plays the boss, ASAC Wells, than just scenes where she gives orders from either her office or a darkened computer room.
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she → wish → office
Sam agrees to stay with the New York bureau, at least for the time being.
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Sam → agree → time
New York isn’t doing anything that will make fans of the franchise scratch their heads.
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fans → do → heads
They stick to the formula, but the show is aided by the immense charms of both LL Cool J and Scott Caan, and the chemistry they have as partners.
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they → stick → partners
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie.
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he → write → himself
His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
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writing → appear → Times
The Aporia
