NCIS: New Orleans is an American action crime drama and police procedural television series that premiered on CBS on September 23, 2014 and has concluded on May 23, 2021 of seven season and 155 episodes. The series was written by Gary Glasberg and executive produced by Mark Harmon. It was produced by CBS Studios, Wings Productions and, for the first four seasons, When Pigs Fly Incorporated. This is the third franchise of NCIS. The pilot episode aired toward the end of NCIS Season 11 as the two part episode Crescent City (episode) and Crescent City Part 2 (episode).
The series is shot on location in New Orleans. NCIS: New Orleans features investigative cases from Pensacola through Mississippi and Louisiana to the Texas panhandle.
Main Cast
- NCIS Special Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride (Scott Bakula) – A charismatic and full of life man who savors every moment but can be rock-solid and strong when needed. He has a past with Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the NCIS Special Agent in charge of the Major Case Response Team in the Navy Yard in Washington D.C.
- NCIS Special Agent Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black) - A handsome, born-and-bred man who is a former Sheriff's deputy and who's been through some rough times. He is originally from Alabama and who is second in command of the New Orleans team.
- Loretta Wade (C. C. H. Pounder) - Medical Examiner for Jefferson Parish.
- Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich) - Dr. Wade's lab assistant and also an NCIS Forensic Agent.
- Sonja Percy (Shalita Grant) - Former ATF agent who transferred to NCIS. She resigned from NCIS for good in the NCIS: New Orleans Season 4 episode, "High Stakes".
- Patton Plame (Daryl "Chill" Mitchell) - NCIS Cyber specialist.
- Tammy Gregorio (Vanessa Ferlito) - FBI Special Agent who transferred to NCIS.
- Hannah Khoury (Necar Zadegan) - NCIS Special Agent who is the replacement of Sonja Percy and Dwayne Pride upon his medical leave. With Pride's promotion to Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Southeast region Agent Khoury became the Special Agent in charge of the New Orleans office.
- Quentin Carter (Charles Michael Davis) - NCIS Special Agent who is the replacement of Chris LaSalle after his death.
- NCIS Special Agent Meredith Brody (Zoe McLellan) - A full of insights, no-nonsense, put together, a government employee façade on an Ivy League mind, Brody is Grace Kelly-like in her class, pomp and circumstance. She was the newest member of the team, having joined the team on a permanent basis at the end of the NCIS Season 11/NCIS: New Orleans backdoor pilot, "Crescent City Part 2" before resigning unexpectedly as revealed during the NCIS: New Orleans Season 3 premiere episode, "Aftershocks".
Recurring Appearances
- Linda Pride- (Paige Turco)- Dwayne Pride's estranged wife.
- Laurel Pride- (Shanley Caswell)- The daughter of NCIS Special Agent Dwayne Pride and civilian Linda Pride as well as the granddaughter of Cassius Pride, Laurel is a music major at Louisiana State University.
- Douglas Hamilton- (Steven Weber)- A New Orleans city councilman who shares a mutual dislike of NCIS Special Agent Dwayne Pride. Douglas's father, Tom Hamilton (Scott Bakula's Quantum Leap co-star Dean Stockwell), is a retired NOPD officer described by his son as a "violent, drunk, racist, son of a bitch".
- Savannah Kelly- (Gillian Alexy)- A long-time love interest of LaSalle, and his brother's therapist. She was murdered by Baitfish in "How Much Pain Can You Take".
- Cade LaSalle (Clayne Crawford)- LaSalle's brother. He suffers from bipolar disorder.
- Jim Messier (Dylan Walsh)- A Captain with the New Orleans Police Department. In "My City", it is revealed that he was seduced by Sasha Broussard into becoming a mole, which led to him assassinating Baitfish once he was captured by Pride and his team.
- Sasha Broussard - (Callie Thorne)- A relative of the former New Orleans Broussard crime syndicate who claims she is trying to disassociate herself from her family, but is revealed to be assisting Pride's enemy "Baitfish" to take control of the city's criminal enterprises.
- Cassius Pride (Stacy Keach) - Pride's incarcerated father.
- Rita Devereaux (Chelsea Field) - The girlfriend of NCIS Special Agent Dwayne Pride.
- Raymond Isler (Derek Webster) - The brotherhood of Dwayne Pride and FBI Special Agent
- Ryan Porter (Hal Ozsan) - Hannah's estranged husband and father of Naomi Porter
Special Guest Appearances
- Dr. Donald Mallard (David McCallum)- the Chief Medical Examiner for NCIS who is also a member of the main NCIS Major Case Response Team in Washington. He appeared in a video conference talking to Dr. Loretta Wade during the NCIS: New Orleans Season 1 premiere episode, "Musician Heal Thyself".
- Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly)- the second-in-command and also the Senior agent on the NCIS Major Case Team Response Team In Washington D.C. He appeared in the NCIS: New Orleans episode, "Carrier", assisting the NCIS: New Orleans team due to the fact that DiNozzo himself unknowingly received the plague in the past.
- Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll)- the Director of NCIS.
- Tobias Fornell- (Joe Spano)- a Senior Agent with the FBI and who is good friends with Gibbs and Pride.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs- (Mark Harmon)- an Agent with NCIS and also the leader of the NCIS Major Case Response Team in Washington D.C.
- Abigail Sciuto- (Pauley Perrette)- NCIS's Chief Forensic Scientist.
- Carol Wilson- (Meredith Eaton)- A scientist who is also close friends with Abby Sciuto.
- Abigail Borin- (Diane Neal)- An agent with the CGIS- Coast Guard Investigative Service and who is also charge of the GCIS's flagship team.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | |||
| Intro | 2 | March 25, 2014 | April 1, 2014 | |
| 1 | 23 | September 23, 2014 | May 12, 2015 | |
| 2 | 24 | September 22, 2015 | May 17, 2016 | |
| 3 | 23 | September 20, 2016 | May 16, 2017 | |
| 4 | 23 | September 26, 2017 | May 15, 2018 | |
| 5 | 24 | September 25, 2018 | May 14, 2019 | |
| 6 | 19 | September 24, 2019 | April 19, 2020 | |
| 7 | 16 | November 8, 2020 | May 23, 2021 | |
Production
Development
In September 2013, NCIS: New Orleans was introduced with a two-part backdoor pilot during the eleventh season of NCIS. The episode title "Crescent City (Part I)" and "Crescent City (Part II)", written by Gary Glasberg, which aired on March 25, 2014, to April 1, 2014, a second spin off from NCIS and set filmed located in New Orleans. NCIS: New Orleans picked up to series on May 9, 2014, NCIS: New Orleans premiered on September 23, 2014, on CBS. On October 27, 2014, CBS picked up NCIS: New Orleans for a full season of 23 episodes. On January 12, 2015, NCIS: New Orleans was renewed for a second season, that premiered on September 22, 2015. NCIS: New Orleans was renewed for a third season on March 25, 2016, which premiered on September 20, 2016. The third season was the last season produced by the NCIS: New Orleans creator and showrunner Gary Glasberg before he died on September 28, 2016. NCIS: New Orleans was renewed for a fourth season on March 23, 2017, which premiered on September 26, 2017. NCIS: New Orleans was renewed for a fifth season on April 18, 2018, which premiered on September 25, 2018. NCIS: New Orleans was renewed for a sixth season on April 22, 2019, which premiered on September 24, 2019. On May 6, 2020, NCIS: New Orleans was renewed for the seventh season, which premiered on November 8, 2020. On February 17, 2021, it was announced that the seventh season would be the show's last, with the finale aired on May 23, 2021.
Casting
In February 2014, the pilot was cast with Scott Bakula, CCH Pounder, and Zoe McLellan as Dwayne Pride, Loretta Wade, and Meredith Brody. Lucas Black as Christopher LaSalle, and Rob Kerkovich joined cast as Sebastian Lund. In June 2015, Deadline Hollywood reported that Daryl Mitchell and Shalita Grant promoted as regulars in season two.
In July 2016, Zoe McLellan, who plays Special Agent Meredith Brody, left the series "for creative reasons", and Vanessa Ferlito joined the cast as Special Agent Tammy Gregorio as a series regular.
In January 2018, it was announced that Shalita Grant, who plays Special Agent Sonja Percy, would be departing the series near the end of the fourth season. In August 2018, it was announced that Necar Zadegan would join the cast as Special Agent Hannah Khoury as a new series regular for the fifth season.
In November 2019, Lucas Black, who portrayed Agent Christopher LaSalle, would be departing in the sixth episode of the sixth season. On February 5, 2020, it was announced that Charles Michael Davis had been cast as Quentin Carter, and would appear as a series regular. On September 29, 2020, it was announced that Chelsea Field portraying attorney Rita Devereaux would be a series regular for the seventh season after recurring for the previous four seasons.
Controversy
Brad Kern took over the reins of NCIS: New Orleans as showrunner in January 2016. Within a year he had become the focus of two investigations for inappropriate behavior toward women. On May 17, 2018, it was reported that Kern was exiting his role as executive producer and showrunner, but would remain as consulting producer, with Christopher Silber replacing him as showrunner. Kern was placed on suspension in June 2018, when CBS launched a third investigation into claims of harassment. Kern was fired by CBS in October 2018.
Reception
Critical response
NCIS: New Orleans has received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season of the show a rating of 65%, based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's consensus reads, "With a solid cast in a beautiful locale, NCIS: New Orleans makes extending this well-worn franchise look like the Big Easy." Metacritic gives the show a score of 55 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
In late September 2014, The Wrap's journalist Jason Hughes reviewed the pilot episode of the series, praising the music, the use of the city of New Orleans, and CBS' decision to cast Scott Bakula as "one of the most likable leading men in television, so they're set there."
David Hinckley of the New York Daily News gave a mixed but critical review of the pilot episode, saying there is a "Crescent City flavor here. But in the larger picture, not much on this menu is unfamiliar." Liz Shannon Miller and Ben Travers of Indiewire said that NCIS is like "the obelisk in 2001: A Space Odyssey, it's an awe-inspiring, inescapable presence in the broadcast line-up. NCIS on CBS: It is here. It has always been here. It forever will be."
Ratings
| Season | Episodes | Timeslot | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Ranking | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Tuesday 9:00PM | September 23, 2014 | May 12, 2015 | 2014–15 | #4 | 13.61 |
| 2 | 24 | September 22, 2015 | May 17, 2016 | 2015–16 | #6 | 14.75 | |
| 3 | Tuesday 10:00PM | September 20, 2016 | May 16, 2017 | 2016–17 | #10 | 13.34 | |
| 4 | September 26, 2017 | May 15, 2018 | 2017–18 | #13 | 12.22 | ||
| 5 | September 25, 2018 | May 14, 2019 | 2018–19 | #18 | 10.83 | ||
| 6 | 20 | Tuesday 10:00PM Sunday 10:00PM |
September 24, 2019 | April 19, 2020 | 2019–20 | #22 | 9.58 |
| 7 | 16 | Sunday 9:00PM | November 8, 2020 | May 23, 2021 | 2020–21 | #27 | 7.22 |
Broadcasting
| Region | Title/Translation | TV Broadcaster(s) | Series Premiere | Weekly Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | NCIS: New Orleans | CBS Television (First run) and TNT (Re-runs) (starting on December 13, 2017) |
September 23 2014 | Tuesday 10:00pm |
Trivia
- This is the second time Zoe McLellan has appeared in a series associated with the NCIS franchise. She originally appeared in NCIS's parent series, JAG, playing Petty Officer Jennifer Coates.
- Scott Bakula previously starred in Quantum Leap, which was created by Donald Bellisario, the creator of NCIS.
- It was made official May 9th 2014 that NCIS New Orleans will air 2014-2015 on CBS.
- The first season of NCIS: New Orleans will start September 23rd 2014 and will air directly following NCIS.
- The second episode featured a crossover between NCIS: New Orleans and the standard NCIS series.
- With Abigail Sciuto's appearance in the second episode, this means that she is the first-ever character to have not only appeared in JAG but also all three NCIS shows- NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans.
- Lucas Black, who portrays Alabama-born LaSalle, is also from Alabama.
- It was announced January 12th that NCIS: New Orleans has been picked up for a second season.
- The premiere of the Spring portion of Seasons 13 and 2 of the flagship series and New Orleans, respectively, will be a two-part crossover episode called "Sister City."
Videos
External links
- NCIS: New Orleans on Fandom
- NCIS: New Orleans on CBS Fandom
- NCIS: New Orleans on Wikipedia