CBS Officially Breaks NCIS's Canon With 10-Year Veteran Return

3 hours ago 6

Published Aug 5, 2026, 8:15 AM EDT

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Despite playing a franchise fan-favorite for a decade, one actor is coming back to NCIS with a new identity. Having been on the air for over two decades, the Donald Bellisario and Don McGill-created series is now recognized as a TV institution. Following a transformative past few years, the 2025-2026 cycle felt like the final stage of its evolution, which will continue this fall. Beyond what it has been able to do for its flagship, however, one underappreciated success of NCIS is how it has been able to launch a franchise that is actually bigger than what many think.

As with other popular procedurals that also launched their own franchises, NCIS used its branding and included a subtitle to effectively communicate that the spinoffs exist in the same reality. For the CBS show, the projects that fall into this category are quite long, with older offshoots, such as NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans, and newer ones, including NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Tony & Ziva. That said, there's another tier of tie-in projects in the NCIS franchise thanks to crossovers, like Scorpion and Hawaii Five-0.

Scott Caan Officially Debuts New NCIS Role Despite Hawaii Five-0

Despite all the spinoffs sharing the same reality, CBS is breaking NCIS's casting rule by bringing back Scott Caan for NCIS: New York. The upcoming offshoot will see LL Cool J reprise his role in NCIS: Los Angeles as Sam Hanna in his very own project. Unlike him, however, Caan, who fronted Hawaii Five-0 as Danny Williams will be playing a fresh character —something that original announcement for the new show clarified from the get-go. With only a couple of months left before the project officially joins CBS's Super Tuesday bloc, NCIS: New York has officially started production, offering the first look at the actor's return to the franchise.

Caan marks NCIS's first recast in its history. Admittedly, there have been instances in the franchise where an actor changes roles depending on the series; sometimes, even in the same project. For example, Sean Murray played a different character in JAG before becoming NCIS's Timothy McGee. Before joining NCIS: Origins as young Vera Strickland, Diany Rodriguez was DHS Agent Garcia in NCIS: New Orleans. Beyond that, there have also been other micro-continuity issues throughout the franchise's history.

What separates Caan from the rest is that Dano was the co-lead of Hawaii Five-0, and whoever he is playing in NCIS: New York is also going to be prominently featured as Hanna's partner. This has been pointed out so many times ever since it was announced that the actor is coming back, but as a different character. While people can easily forgive smaller plot issues, this is far too big to just ignore.

Who Scott Caan Is Playing In NCIS: New York

Rounding out the cast for NCIS: New York are Jennifer Beals, Jacqueline Byers, Shane Harper, and Devin Druid. All of them are confirmed to be part of the new team that Sam leads in the new offshoot. As seen in the set image, Byers and Harper are also both agents of the agency, since they are wearing the same iconic vest that LL Cool J has sported so many times over the years and is on him once again. Noticeably, however, Caan doesn't have it on, raising the possibility that he might not be someone from the organization — at least when NCIS: New York starts. Subsequently, new production video from CBS formally introduced the actor as Nick Schaeffer, solidifying the matter.

For what it's worth, before the character got a name, there were theories that CBS was just hiding that Caan was actually reprising Williams. But, going down this route is an interesting way to establish the new spinoff. Previous NCIS offshoots started with the team already assembled, with a few characters joining down the line. By tackling how exactly the partnership between NCIS: New York's two leads begins, it is making it easier for viewers to get invested in them and their dynamic. The fact that CBS is willing to go through the complication of explaining his more complicated history with the franchise suggests that there's something special about his pairing with LL Cool J.

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