NCIS franchise leads set to return for the new seasons

By Alexandria Ingham | May 10, 2020

"Concours D'Elegance" - Pictured: Chris O'Donnell (Special Agent G. Callen) and LL COOL J (Special Agent Sam Hanna). The NCIS team links the theft of an undersea drone prototype to a video game streamer's elaborate party. Also, Callen and Sam cross paths again with insurance broker Katherine Casillas (Moon Bloodgood), who insures the gamer's property and processions, on NCIS: LOS ANGELES, Sunday, Nov. 10 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. /

All three NCIS shows have been renewed, but they wouldn’t be what they are without their leads. Fortunately, the franchise leads are returning.

Are you ready for more from the NCIS shows? Of course you are! The great news is that all three have been renewed. Even better news is that all leads are returning.

The three shows wouldn’t be what they are without Mark Harmon, Scott Bakula, LL Cool J, and Chris O’Donnell. There are other actors on the shows who certainly add their own flares, but the lead males help to carry every single episode. There’s no denying that many would tune out if any of them chose to leave.

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Mark Harmon had signed a new contract ahead of NCIS being renewed for an 18th season. Not only was this necessary for a renewal in terms of lead actor, but he is the EP on the show and on NCIS: New Orleans.

Speaking of New Orleans, Bakula had just closed a new deal for the show as the renewal notice came in, according to Deadline. It was just O’Donnell and LL Cool J we were waiting for, but their contracts were in the finalizing stages. There’s no need to worry that either of them are leaving NCIS: LA.

However, CBS TV Studios will need to look at other actors on the series. For example, a number of NCIS: New Orleans actors are coming to the end of their standard six-year contracts. They’ll now decide whether they are signing on for longer. There are reportedly talks of moving the third show of the franchise to Los Angeles for filming, but those talks haven’t led to anything yet. There’s just something special about New Orleans being filmed in that location.

Others who have been around for longer than six years with have different types of contracts. Some of them may be up for renewal, such as Renée Felice Smith’s contract. We’re still waiting to see if Nell is leaving LA permanently or not.

One contract that could be up is David McCallum’s. The actor stepped back from the show and is now only in a handful of episodes per season. It was a way to keep Ducky on the show but allow McCallum to spend more time with his family and look after his health. We’ll be keeping an eye out to see whether his appearances will be cut back even further.

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Who do you hope is definitely sticking around on the NCIS shows? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

NCIS, NCIS: LA, and NCIS: New Orleans are available to stream on CBS All Access.