The world of NCIS is expanding, and what better way to kick that off than to bring back the franchise cast member who’s about to headline another spinoff? LL Cool J returns to NCIS as Sam Hanna, the role he originated on NCIS: LA then reprised on NCIS: Hawai’i as a special guest star for its final season, in the Tuesday, April 21, episode. This comes ahead of NCIS: New York joining CBS’ lineup in fall 2026.

It turns out he’s stopped by the Navy Yard at the perfect time; Kasie’s (Diona Reasonover) upgrading the system in MTAC with a skeleton crew when someone is murdered, and Sam joins Parker (Gary Cole) and Palmer (Brian Dietzen) in getting to the bottom of it. His presence also allows for an organic way to continue to talk about the major loss of Vance (Rocky Carroll), who was killed in the line of duty during the 500th episode. Warning: Spoilers for NCIS Season 23 Episode 17 ahead!

Originally published on tvinsider.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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