{"id":590295,"date":"2026-04-17T19:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/590295\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T19:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:13:08","slug":"the-backstory-of-sam-hanna-spinoff-with-ll-cool-j","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/590295\/","title":{"rendered":"The Backstory of Sam Hanna Spinoff With LL Cool J"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tCBS dropped a bombshell at its fall 2026 schedule reveal<\/a> Wednesday by announcing new series NCIS: New York<\/a><\/a> starring LL Cool J<\/a> and Scott Caan<\/a> from Emmy-winning<\/a> The Pitt creator R. Scott Gemmill.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis is a very rare scenario where the lead\/co-lead of one spinoff in a franchise, NCIS: Los Angeles\u2018 LL Cool J, serves as the lead\/co-lead of another spinoff in the same franchise playing the same character, NCIS Agent Sam Hanna. The only other case that comes to mind is Law & Order: SVU\u2018s Christopher Meloni starring as Elliot Stabler<\/a> on Law & Order: Organized Crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tNCIS: New York came together very quickly, taking about five months from the first conversations with LL Cool J about it to a series greenlight with a completed script that had gone through revisions, a co-lead cast, a showrunner hired \u2014 and everyone involved locked in with closed deals.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: CBS Boss On Why Network Went With \u2018NCIS: New York\u2019 And Not \u2018Tony & Ziva\u2019 For Next Season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tBut the fast pickup capped a multi-year effort by CBS and NCIS franchise producer CBS Studios to keep Sam Hanna on TV after NCIS: LA ended its 14-season run<\/a> in May 2023. It resulted in appearances by LL Cool J on NCIS: Hawai\u2019i and NCIS. And before he sets out to star in NCIS: New York, the actor-rapper will make two more guest appearances on the mothership later this month. They will hint at Sam Hanna\u2019s new chapter but are not designed to set up the spinoff, sources said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere\u2019ll be some lines in there that set up New York,\u201d LL Cool J told Deadline.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: Dates For Season-Finale Episodes Of Series On ABC, CBS, NBC & Fox<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\tAssembling the Team\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter launching two spinoffs during the first 17 years of NCIS\u2018 run, NCIS: LA and NCIS: New Orleans, the process has been accelerated, with four offshoots introduced over the past five years, two of which are still on CBS, NCIS: Sydney and prequel NCIS: Origins. <\/p>\n

\n\tWith a focus on building franchises under George Cheeks, Paramount\u2019s Chair of TV Media who oversees CBS and CBS Studios, the studio has at least one potential new installment of its main franchises in the works at any time. <\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: 2026 TV Cancellations Photo Gallery: Series Ending This Year & Beyond<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tSam Hanna was identified as the subject of an NCIS offshoot CBS Studios wanted to tackle next, and conversations with LL Cool J about it started last fall, zeroing in on Sam\u2019s hometown of New York as setting. After coming on board, the NCIS: LA star suggested approaching R. Scott Gemmill to write the script.<\/p>\n

\n\tGemmill is currently flying high as the creator, executive producer and showrunner of the most acclaimed drama series of the past year, HBO Max\u2019s The Pitt. But before he teamed up with John Wells and Noah Wyle on the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning medical drama, Gemmill was a writer-executive producer on NCIS: Los Angeles for its entire 14-season run and, after serving as No. 2 to creator, executive producer and showrunner Shane Brennan for the first seven seasons, he took over when Brennan stepped down in 2016. Gemmill remained at the helm for the following seven seasons, and he and LL Cool J have stayed close. <\/p>\n

\n\tWith CBS Studios President David Stapf, CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach and their boss, Cheeks, all aligned, Gemmill was approached just before Christmas. <\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: 2026 TV Series Renewals Photo Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey came to me and said that they were thinking about doing an NCIS: New York with Todd, and I said, I\u2019m in. That\u2019s all it takes,\u201d Gemmill said at CBS\u2019 upfront party Wednesday night, referring to LL Cool J by his real middle name which he uses in personal interactions.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs to why Gemmill agreed so quickly, \u201cTodd\u2019s from New York, so it was great. And it\u2019s as if his character is going back home, as if Todd himself is going back home,\u201d he said. \u201cNew York is the burning center of the universe, so I was just excited and happy to be asked to be a part of it. And I jumped at the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLL Cool J, who is bi-coastal, was born and raised in New York. While exact filming location has not been locked in, NCIS: New York is expected to shoot in and around New York. <\/p>\n

\n\tGemmill wrote the first draft of the script during his Christmas break from The Pitt before going back to the show, which is wrapping its Season 2 run on HBO Max this week, with Season 3 production slated to begin in June.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: Matt LeBlanc Cop Drama \u2018Flint\u2019 Gets Development Room, Drama \u2018I Know Who You Are\u2019 & Comedy \u2018Hilda! In Lights\u2019 Also In Works At CBS<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tAs the draft underwent refinement, conversations started focusing on the co-lead character. Like on NCIS: LA, where Sam Hanna was partnered with Grisha Callen (Chris O\u2019Donnell), on NCIS: New York he will have a partner too. <\/p>\n

\n\tPer the official logline for the new offshoot, NCIS Agent Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) returns to his hometown of New York City to their field office, partnering with a roguish agent (Caan) and helping lead a new team as they are tasked with high-stakes missions to defend one of the world\u2019s most vital cities and ports.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be a lot of fun, a lot of sarcasm, lot of banter, lot of witty repartees, lot of New York,\u201d LL Cool J told Deadline on the CBS upfront party red carpet. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be everything you need to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: 2026-27 CBS Pilot Orders<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tAfter finding themselves repeatedly describing the ideal actor for the partner role as a Scott Caan-type, CBS and CBS Studios executives decided to reach out to the prototype himself. Caan previously starred on another CBS\/CBS Studios procedural, Hawaii Five-0, and lives in New York.<\/p>\n

\n\tAsked by Deadline at the Paramount upfront party if it was hard for him to say yes to doing NCIS: New York with LL Cool J, Caan said, \u201cIt was hard to say no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLL Cool J and Caan previously starred together in an NCIS: LA-Hawaii Five-0 crossover, making for a meta history as Caan played a different character, Danno, alongside LL Cool J\u2019s Sam Hanna in it.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s called acting,\u201d LL Cool J quipped about Caan\u2019s challenge of switching characters opposite Sam. <\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: Emmy Winners For Best Drama Since 1960: A Photo Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe duo showed good camaraderie walking the red carpet and hanging out at the parties for CBS and Paramount\u2019s upfront events this week. And yes, their significant height difference is addressed right off the bat in the pilot with a joke.<\/p>\n

\n\tConversations with Caan were already underway when another key piece of the creative team came together just a month ago when, upon recommendation from CBS Studios\u2019 Stapf and EVP Bryan Seabury, Kingdom creator Byron Balasco was approached to come on board as showrunner. (Gemmill was never an option since he has a full-time showrunner job on The Pitt, which produces 15 episodes a year.)<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI actually first met Byron when he was a writer on Without a Trace and I was a baby executive, and I\u2019m delighted to welcome him into the franchise,\u201d Reisenbach, who was a CBS current executive before becoming entertainment president, said of the former writer-producer on the network\u2019s 2002 missing persons procedural. <\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: Emmy Winners For Best Comedy Since 1952<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tBalasco will likely write the second episode of NCIS: New York, which has received a 20-episode order I hear, but things are still TBD as the final deals were just recently completed to announce the series this week.<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite his busy schedule, Gemmill hopes to stay involved. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cByron Balasco is going to be running the show, and I will help out as much as I can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\tExtending the Streak\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring the unveiling of the fall 2026 CBS schedule, Reisenbach used suspense for dramatic effect, leaving the 9 PM slot in the Tuesday lineup blank for a few moments before announcing NCIS: New York with aplomb, expressing glee about the network being able to keep the project a secret. (It was a concerted effort, with information about the offshoot kept within a small circle throughout the process.)<\/p>\n

\n\tThe blank space also serves as a good metaphor, as NCIS: New York is bringing in a \u201cmissing piece\u201d to the 2026-27 schedule \u2014 a new franchise extension. <\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: Here Are The Actors Who Have Won The Most Emmys: Photo Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tIn each of the past three seasons, CBS introduced offshoots of an existing series. While new non-franchise entries over that period have had various degrees of success; some, like Tracker and Matlock, have become hits, while some, like Watson and DMV, have been canceled, all universe extensions launched since are still around and doing well.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat was highlighted earlier in the CBS schedule presentation when Cheeks touted the network\u2019s ratings performance with a slide of the most watched new broadcast series for the past five seasons. (CBS had the No.1 show in each season.)<\/p>\n

\n\tThere were two franchise extensions each launched in 2023-24 and 2024-25, finishing as No.2 (Elsbeth) and No.3 (NCIS: Sydney) behind No.1 Tracker in 2023-24, and as No.2 (Georgie & Mandy\u2019s First Marriage) and No. 5 (NCIS: Origins) behind No. 1 Matlock in 2024-25. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe stat for the current 2025-26 season is pretty staggering: CBS is claiming the top four new series in total viewers this season, all of them offshoots: Marshals (No.1), Sheriff Country (No.2), Boston Blue (No.3) and CIA (No.4). <\/p>\n

\n\tBefore the NCIS: New York announcement, CBS was going to go from 4 to 0 new franchise titles as CBS had picked up three new series for next season, two of them original concepts, drama Cupertino and comedy Eternally Yours, and one adaptation of an international format, drama Einstein.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith NCIS: New York, the streak of adding at least one new franchise offshoot has been extended to four seasons. The new spinoff, scheduled directly after the mothership series on Tuesdays, also allows for natural crossovers, sought after by networks for their big ratings potential. That is something CBS had not been able to do with NCIS recently as Origins is set in a different time period and Sydney on a different content with its production on a different timeline.<\/p>\n

\n\tNCIS: New York also extends LL Cool J\u2019s tenure as Sam Hanna, a character he has been playing for 17 years. Why has he stuck with him for so long? <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe\u2019s a superhero,\u201d LL Cool J told Deadline. \u201cThis 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\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CBS dropped a bombshell at its fall 2026 schedule reveal Wednesday by announcing new series NCIS: New York…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[88,29648,257770,257771,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-590295","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-ll-cool-j","10":"tag-ncis-new-york","11":"tag-scott-caan","12":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}