In unveiling its fall 2026 schedule today, CBS announced a new NCIS spinoff series, NCIS: New York, headlined by NCIS: Los Angeles star LL Cool J reprising his role as NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, which will be joining mothership NCIS and prequel NCIS: Origins on Tuesdays.
The new offshoot, from The Pitt creator R. Scott Gemmill and Byron Balasco, came as a surprise since CBS already has a third NCIS series that aired in the lineup last season, the Australian-made NCIS: Sydney. (Renewed for 2026-27, Sydney will be back in midseason, replacing Origins, whose order is being reduced for Season 3.)
The announcement also raised a question, if CBS had room for one more NCIS series, why not Tony and Ziva, which was canceled in December after one season on Paramount+? Like New York, it featured poplar stars from CBS’ NCIS universe, the mothership’s fan favorite couple Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo). All NCIS shows are produced by the same studio, CBS Studios.
CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach was asked by Deadline about the rationale of launching a new spinoff vs. picking up one that already exists.
“LL is like a member of our family at CBS, he’s done pop-ins on NCIS the last two years since LA ended, and it’s been really successful,” she said. “And the opportunity for Sam Hanna, who is originally from New York but lived in LA for NCIS: LA, to send him back home felt like a really ripe creative space to play in. Plus, there is a huge port and Navy presence in New York — I cannot wait for the premiere party on the Intrepid. We always want to look for what makes an expansion unique and special, and we thought there was just so much opportunity with this.”
Did CBS consider Tony & Ziva?
“We really wanted to bring the Sam Hanna character back,” Reisenbach said.
NCIS: Tony & Ziva picked up after Ziva’s supposed death when Tony left the NCIS team to go raise their daughter. Years later, Ziva was discovered alive, leading her to complete one final mission with NCIS before she was reunited with Tony and their daughter in Paris.
