'NCIS' spinoff set in New York to star LL Cool J: CBS

"NCIS" is finally coming to New York, with the show's latest spinoff this fall, and a particularly familiar figure for the "NCIS" universe at the helm — LL Cool J's Sam Hanna, of "NCIS: Los Angeles," which wrapped in 2023 after a 14-season run. 

"NCIS: New York" and Hanna's prime-time return were the big reveals in CBS' 2026 fall schedule announced Wednesday. Scott Caan, of the network's "Hawaii Five-O," is also joining the latest spinoff. 

Title aside, CBS didn't indicate whether the show will actually be produced in New York, which has been especially hard hit by an industrywide production slump.

Here's CBS' through line: Legendary NCIS Agent Sam Hanna returns to his hometown of New York City to their field office, partnering with a roguish agent (Caan) and helping lead a new team as they are tasked with high-stakes missions to defend one of the most vital cities and ports in the world.

Bay Shore-born, St. Albans-raised LL Cool J (James Todd Smith), 58, has been an especially prolific actor (counting music videos) over the decades, but Hanna has been the calling card — and it's a role he's never left behind either. Since "NCIS: LA" was canceled (reportedly over cost), the Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has appeared in "NCIS: Hawaii" and on the mother ship, where he'll return once again, coincidentally (or not), in the April 21 and 28 episodes.

CBS said the new series will air Tuesday nights at 9 — an all-"NCIS" night, with "NCIS" as lead-in, and "NCIS: Origins" as lead-out at 10.

The network also announced two other new shows for the fall lineup: "Cupertino," starring Mike Colter as a lawyer going up against "the giants of Silicon Valley"; and "Eternally Yours" about (yes) a pair of vampires "who have been married for 500 years and their struggles to accept the human who is dating their daughter."