The NCIS: Sydney producers had promised a big cliffhanger for Season 1 and they didn't disappoint! What happened and what does this mean for Season 2?
Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for the NCIS: Sydney Season 1 finale
The Season 1 finale, "Blonde Ambition" had the team interrogating Ana Niemus (Georgina Haig), the spy they caught in the penultimate episode. Given her name sounded a lot like "anonymous" and how she kept switching accents, it was clear the woman was a freelance spy for hire.
JD was interrupted by news his son had been kidnapped from his birthday party, with the team naturally racing to find him. They got word from the kidnapper, demanding Ana be released in exchange for JD's son.
The team realized Ana didn't know about this and that this wasn't a rescue but instead trying to silence her. They got an unlikely aide from Department of Defense agent Rankin (Lewis Fitz-Gerald), who sympathized with JD and ran interference for the team.
What was the big cliffhanger?
JD went to an extreme by breaking Ana out of jail and leading her to a location to face the kidnapper, with the team watching via satellite. They had a bit of banter before Ana used a gun JD had given her to kill her kidnapper.
Ana then held JD at gunpoint to escape, but not before giving him the kidnapper's phone and encouraging him to call the last number on it. JD did…and at NCIS headquarters, Rankin's phone rang. Everyone stared at him with Mackey putting a hand to her gun as the screen cut to black.
Speaking to TV Insider, Todd Lasance shared how he felt on this epic cliffhanger.
"I think that's the cliffhanger that I was dreaming of. When I read that line from Mackey, 'Are you going to get that?' in the script, I threw my script. I was like, 'You have got — this is epic.' The fact that she goes for her gun and he's standing there. There's one number related to our ultimate enemy in the series that he has been potentially covering for and associated with throughout the whole season. I love that juice. That's the best. That's fantastic writing. That's fantastic plotting from our writers and Morgan [O'Neill], our showrunner."
This obviously paves the way for a big Season 2, assuming that happens.
Are we getting NCIS: Sydney Season 2?
Lasance hinted that Season 2 would have the team trying to unravel who Rankin really works for and their ties to Ana. It seems to be part of a larger plot, but it's uncertain if it's terrorists or some rogue government operatives.
Of course, that assumes there will be a Season 2, as it hasn't been announced yet. However, Lasance is hopeful it does happen.
"If we go again, I spoke to the showrunner about his ideas as to where he wants to take the show and where he'd want to pick it up. It's awesome. It's super exciting where they want to go, and obviously, the relationship's now opened up with his son and his ex-wife and the team. It's game on now, which is great. So it's exciting for the show and the characters to see where they're going to go."
The show's short run is typical for Australian TV shows and was a good "filler" for CBS while the regular fall season was delayed. Fans are obviously hopeful it can pick up from that wild cliffhanger to continue the adventures of the Down Under NCIS team.
NCIS: Sydney Season 1 streaming on Paramount+.