LL Cool J Joins NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3 — Vanessa Lachey Cheers New Addition
The following contains spoilers from Monday night’s NCIS: Hawai’i Season 2 finale.
The NCIS: Hawai’i team is getting a major plus-up.
LL Cool J — fresh off wrapping his 14-year run as NCIS: Los Angeles‘ Sam Hanna, who surprisingly resurfaced on CBS 24 hours later to make a bacon-saving cameo during NCIS: Hawa’i’i‘s Season 2 finale — is joining the island-set spinoff for Season 3, as a recurring guest star.
Midway through the NCIS: Hawai’i finale, Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant (played by Vanessa Lachey) was in the course of escaping a pair of back-from-the-dead Adrian Creel’s henchmen when a sniper shot rang out from a nearby hill, felling the second of her and Whistler’s (Tori Anderson) adversaries.
The shooter, Special Agent Sam Hanna, then rang Jane’s cell to make reference to the fact that, yes, the NCIS: LA series finale had deposited Sam (and Callen) 6,800 km away in Morocco (on a mission to save Hetty), but also to offer Tennant his future services.
But when the NCIS: Hawai’i finale later drew to a close, it appeared that Supervisory Agent John Swift (Henry Ian Cusick) will be the one to avail the Pearl Harbor office of Sam’s vast experience. For as Jane worried what the fallout would be for unexpectedly letting superspy Maggie Shaw slip away, Swift was seen on the phone talking to someone about how “it couldn’t hurt to plus-up the team” in Pearl Harbor, adding: “I have an idea who….”
In a TVLine exclusive, NCIS: Hawai’i front woman Lachey says she is “so excited” to have LL Cool J (aka Todd Smith) come on board for Season 3. “This is an amazing opportunity to continue evolving the NCIS franchise,” she notes. “And what better way to do that than have Sam Hanna join the team.”
While Lachey is mum on how exactly Sam will fit into the mix (“That’s the fun part, figuring out how we all will solve cases together”), she is confident that “we will have fun on set!” With a nod to the 3-way NCIS franchise crossover that aired in January, she says, “From the moment we started filming the triple crossover, to hearing the news of Todd joining our team, it’s been laughs, love and excitement all around.”
In fact, Lachey surmises that the success of said crossover played “a big part” in whetting appetites for LL Cool J’s move to Hawai’i. “We all loved working on the triple crossover, so this transition seemed natural,” she says.
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Great addition!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Congratulations to LL Cool J on becoming the General Skarr of NCIS
LOVE the Evil Con Carne reference.
Yeah I’m not a fan of this. Part of the reason LA ended was that it had gotten too expensive because of cast contracts. So now Hawaii is saddled with an expensive cast member, recurring or not, and will probably have to make cost cuts elsewhere. I like LL a lot, but the team dynamic on Hawaii is truly special, not a fan of throwing someone else into the mix, especially an established character from a different show in the franchise.
Agree
But this is a new show with presumably a new contract. Maybe LL took a substantial pay cut in exchange for being able to continue working at a somewhat steady job.
I wasn’t interested in Hawaii but if Sam is involved I will watch.
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I am wondering if someone from the current Hawaii cast is leaving (voluntarily? not?) to make the budget fit. Also it’s just one person. The budget for 4 stars (granted LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell probably got more than Danielle Ruah and Eric Oslen but I bet they were up there too) is going to be a heck of a lot more than the budget for the NCIS Hawaii starts + LL Cool J. I don’t see why you think they are “saddled” with him. I mean I’m sure CBS worked out the numbers first before deciding this. Also he’s a great actor. I’m hoping he will make the show better because I am not a fan of the acting. When they did the crossover you could tell the level of acting of the NCIS LA was much better. Maybe because they had been doing it for 12-13 more years, but also because they’re just better actors. But I don’t hate NCIS Hawaii either, I was just never as invested in watching it was I was with NCIS LA. And I’m willing to give it a shot.
I’m curious what will happen with Sam’s dad? He probably will bring him to Hawaii but the actor probably won’t go – and they’ll just mention the dad who is “offscreen”.
I disagree. I thought some of the LA actors were wooden. But that’s why we all have choices of what to watch.
Awesome news! I look forward to seeing Sam Hanna team up with the agents in Hawaii!
I do not watch the Hawaii show. It is a step in the right direction bringing Sam Najma’s character on. Now if they would fire the rest and bring the New Orleans cast that would be a real winner for me.
Who is Sam najma? Also way to be ignorant saying people should be fired when you don’t watch anyway
I watched first season in hopes it would get better even into the second season but this Hawaii cast is horrible. Acting is subpar. I agree with Jack.
Absolutely!!!
It was a typo or spell check correction on my tablet!!
I’ve tried to watch the show and can’t get past a couple minutes and see anything worth watching. I preferred the New Orleans cast. Sir, I’m not ignorant.
I suspected Sam might show up some time. Beyond excited that he will join the team for S3!
Not sure I’m excited for Swift to come back though.
Loved the finale! Great job guys! See you next season.
I like LL and hated to see LA go, But Sam told Callen he would always have his back and how is that possible with him in Hawaii. Maybe Callen can retire with Anna in Hawaii and Kensi and Deeks can move to DC with the Admiral
Great news, I’m thrilled!!
I assume this is how they’re ultimately going to wrap up the Body Stitchers arc that was left unresolved in LA.
Great addition!!!
This, will definitely be interesting! Hopefully it leads to updates on the search for Hetty
I believe Linda Hunt lives in Hawaii now. They could possibly finish her storyline if she were up to it?
Gee, History is repeating itself – STAR TREK DEEP SPACE 9 Pulled the same thing in Season 4 by Brining Michael Dorn’s Worf onto the series…
To paraphrase Spock from ST2, I remember.
I don’t know about this yet. Love LL, Love Sam Hanna but I kinda wanted him to remain with G and the team solving LA navy crimes. Every time he’s in Hawaii, I’ll just imagine the team fractured…let’s see
The Pros: it will be a great way to give us updates on the LA team off screen n opportunities for other guess appearance from that team.
Guest
🤣🤣🤣
Very “Cool” … and very NCISque of them to make Sam Hanna part of Hawaii.
So this is gonna become the Sam Hanna Show. Hawaii’s lead is a woman, a single mom, the romonatic couple are two same sex partners. It’s not a testosterone filed show.
LA was always the Sam show, and for all his positive atributes, Hetty, was the One who round up, and made the show unique.
It would be cool to get everyone together from all three shows to rescue Hetty later in Season 3.
Well, the fact that they went out of their way to remind us of where Sam and G were just a day before instead of setting that scene either before or after the finale, leads me to believe that they might rescue Hetty or at least reference saving her in the season premiere.
An excellent addition to the show I’d prefer to see him as a regular but recurring is better than nothing.
LL is great. Way to great to be a show with such weak writing and an even weaker and disjointed cast.
That sounds great! But I hope Henry Ian Cusick doesn’t appear often or at all.
Let’s hope it doesn’t cost someone else their place in the show
They slot actors in and suddenly someone is off
#dontdoit
My favorite agent, and actor from NCIS LA I will now be a constant watcher of Hawaii THANK YOU a thousand times
I feel that LL Cool J will be used as a fill-in for episodes where Yasmine al-Bustami will be away.
It’s no secret that she gets homesick, and that’s part of the reason she missed several episodes in Season 2. Yas is the only actor on the show that’s not married, so she’s probably lonely at times in Hawaii.
If Lucy is away again for parts of Season 3, the show can bring an established NCIS character in Sam Hanna to take her place.
Dear Producers,
.
Friendly reminder that there’s a whole missing NCIS branch (that was canceled too soon) that could be revisited, if you ever have another crossover or need to transfer new characters to Hawaii or the mothership. Provided, of course, you remember your New Orleans cast at all. We sure do.
.
Sincerely,
The Fans
Damn autocorrect. 🤷♂️
Two of the Hawaii producers (Jan Nash and Christoper Silber) were New Orleans producers, in case you forgot.
They remember them.
Yes!!
This makes me mad., Hawaii is horrible NCIS… I am sure he will make it much better, but why now. Why didnt we see some of these characters from New Orleans move over to the other shows. It was by far better than Hawaii. Acting is Hawaii is not good. Very disappointing.
Would all these NCIS: New Orleans fans please stop?
“Did CBS forget about them?” Get a grip. Two of the producers/writers from NOLA, Jan Nash and Christoper Silber, are the showrunners of Hawaii. Yes, they remember the cast they produced and wrote for.
What actor from NOLA who is available right now are they supposed to bring in? Scott Bakula isn’t going to Hawaii for anything more than a one-time guest spot. What other character from that show would move the needle? Not one that I can think of.
Complaining about the Hawaii cast while not naming one actor from NOLA that would improve anything is nothing more than sour grapes.
Nash and Silber knew what they had in NOLA, and they know what they have in Hawaii. So, do the fans of NCIS: Hawaii.
Glad someone posted this Chuck. They have been complaining about New Orleans for a couple years now and it’s gotten really old. That show had run it’s course. They don’t want people to enjoy Hawaii cause they are bitter.
Exactly.
Move on, NOLA fans. Let Hawaii fans enjoy our show that the same producers from NOLA now run.