NCIS: NEW YORK: Big Apple, Core values for schedule staple…
One should never bet against NCIS. Despite a few speed-bumps and misfires along the way, it’s been a firm schedule staple for decades in one form or another, a safe-harbour for spies, national and naval security and a relaible helping of gentle snark, bullets and banter
It’s certainly possible to argue that some of the NCIS success is down to the basic template and a formula from which it rarely strays too far. For the most part someone linked to the Navy is murdered or robbed (or does the murdering and robbing) and one of its teams has to collectively discover what really happened while exchanging banter and character quirks under fire. Chemistry and rhythm take time to develop, but pilot episodes are mostly grounded by the need for first-time exposition and set-ups. Few shows manage to deliver that in bulk without looking a little clumsy and so premieres are largely an opening salvo rather than wholly satisfying action.
Spin-offs are the name of the game and primetime often appears to be made up solely of variants on a theme. Tuesday nights on American television’s CBS now establish a deliberate smorgasbord of NCIS and this week’s new season launches leaned into the tried-and-tested with a twist. In the mothership, Michael Weatherly returned as Tony diNozzo. In the prequel series, NCIS: Origins Mark Harmon’s Jethro Gibbs returned to do more than just narrate his early exploits and for the new NCIS: New York, franchise stalwart Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) headed home to the Big Apple. Everything new is old again.
LL Cool J was a full-term cornerstone of the Los Angeles branch (alongside Chris O’Donnell), but he’s also been seconded to Hawai’i, featured heavily in crossovers and it’s really no surprise that when CBS wanted another stablemate, it turned to one of its major players, bringing the brute force to the forefront and forming it around him. As both star and executive producer, all things seem to be ‘Cool’.
So, in many ways, explaining how Sam ends up in New York really isn’t that important. (But, in a nutshell: While Sam’s on an undercover mission in Dubai, he gets a desperate voice-mail from the son of an old friend. By the time he returns it, the young man is dead and Sam heads to the Big Apple to find answers… joining forces with the local NCIS unit).
We’re introduced to the ‘new’ team and, lo and behold, they do feel… familiar.
Scott Caan is… Nick Schaeffer, but…well, Scott Caan. He fails to significantly stray from the Danny Williams persona of the Hawaii-Five-0 reboot or the two seasons of Alert: Missing People’s Unit role of Jason Grant – both reckless motormouth mavericks. (Don’t even try to wrap your mind around the fact that Caan already featured in a Hawaii-Five-0 and NCIS: Los Angeles crossover). The show establishes a respectful collision of characters that seems fine but flippant.
Jennifer Beals is the de facto leader of the unit and the rest of the team includes go-getter Jacqueline Byers as ‘Addy Ross’, Shane Harper as just-dumped agent lillywhite Wyatt Hill and Devin Druid as abrasive tech/hacker Sean Sullivan. If this all feels like a mix-and-match of established tropes and as if like someone reached into the toybox and brought out last year’s models with new clothing, there’s a good reason – all of these have legacy characters or personalities that can be traced back to previous stablemates. It’ll be up to the actors and writers to make them seem less derivative.
Rather than innovation, it’s location work and cast charisma that keeps NCIS afloat. ‘New York’ has both, but there’s a risk that the stories will be so generic that we don’t care as much as we did. Again, it’s going to take a while to convince otherwise. The pilot’s plot was contrived and confusing with no real hooks apart from the mandated introductions.
With no ill-will to the actors, I’ll admit that there was a small part of me that wondered or even hoped that NCIS: New York could have wrong-footed us all… that it would excitingly pull a ‘The Shield‘ moment early on. Despite the marketing of the Scott Caan / LL Cool J combo chemistry, imagine the reviews, coverage and statement of intent if it had killed off a ‘name’ like Caan before the end of the pilot and it was that unexpected demise be the real impetus for Sam Hanna suddenly feeling the need to stick around. Network tv rarely takes such risks (though NCIS has written people out, most noticeably Sasha Alexander being the sudden victim of a sniper way back in Season Two). But no, the day is saved, the banter is exchanged and it’s merely Nick’s puppy-dog persistence that conveniently sways Sam to come ‘home’ and stick around which feels…. convenient and anti-climactic.
With its combined ingredients, this new variant has potential to be more than disposable fun, if – so far – a little more overtly violent than some of its NCIS counterparts. It’s… fine. But only time – a New York minute – will tell if it will be compelling kick-assery or merely comfortable slippers. There are probably worse fates than being either.
7.5/10
The NCIS series are broadcast back-to-back on CBS every Tuesday…