NCIS: Los Angeles is an American action crime drama television series combining elements of the military drama and police procedural genres, which premiered on CBS on September 22, 2009. The series follows the exploits of the Los Angeles–based Office of Special Projects (OSP), an elite division of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that specializes in undercover assignments. NCIS: Los Angeles is the first spin-off of the successful series NCIS and the second series in the NCIS franchise. The series concluded on May 21, 2023, making it the second series in the NCIS franchise to end (first being NCIS: New Orleans). The series starred Chris O'Donnell, Daniela Ruah, and LL Cool J alongside an ensemble cast. The first season featured Peter Cambor, Adam Jamal Craig, Linda Hunt and Barrett Foa. Cambor was demoted to recurring status, and Craig's character was killed off at the end of season 1, while Foa was written out at the end of season 12 and Hunt was demoted to "special guest star" status at the beginning of season 13. Other stars included Eric Christian Olsen, Renée Felice Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Nia Long, Medalion Rahimi, Caleb Castille, and Gerald McRaney. Cast members from the original NCIS made appearances on the series with Rocky Carroll recurring in the first three seasons, and making an appearance in season six. Cast members from non NCIS shows had also made appearances, specifically in a crossover event with Hawaii Five-0. NCIS: Los Angeles received generally mixed reviews from critics, but became a solid ratings hit for CBS at the time of its premiere. The series received six Teen Choice Awards for Choice Action Show, Choice TV Actress Action for Hunt, and Choice TV Actor Action for LL Cool J.

Premise

NCIS: Los Angeles follows Special Agents Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) and Grisha Callen (Chris O'Donnell), undercover agents assigned to the Office of Special Projects, a special branch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that specializes in undercover assignments. Sam is an ex-US Navy SEAL and former member of SEAL Team Six and dedicated family man. Callen is a former foster child who became a "legend" under the watchful eye of Operations Manager Henrietta "Hetty" Lange (Linda Hunt). At the start of the series, Sam, Callen, and Hetty are supported by Special Agent Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah), a hand-to-hand combat specialist, trained sniper and forensic whiz, rookie agent Dominic Vail (Adam Jamal Craig), Operational Psychologist Nate Getz (Peter Cambor) and Technical Operator Eric Beale (Barrett Foa). Vail is abducted by terrorists halfway through season 1 and, following a period of being held hostage, is killed during his rescue mission near the end of the season. Getz, meanwhile, enters training to become an agent in the back-half of the season, and is reassigned during season 2, returning for occasional guest appearances afterwards. In season 2, LAPD Detective Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen), after helping on several cases late in the prior season, joins the OSP team as a liaison between LAPD and NCIS, replacing Vail as Kensi's partner. He holds this position until departmental reforms in season 12 end up terminating it, after which he completes FLETC training and officially joins NCIS as an Investigator. Over the course of the series, Deeks and Kensi slowly evolve from partners to lovers, with the two marrying in season 10. The two then become foster parents to immigrant teenager Rosa in season 13 and are revealed to be expecting their own baby in the series finale. Also joining the team in season 2 is Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones (Renee Felice Smith), a brilliant agent whom Hetty hopes to have take her place eventually, and who forms a close relationship with Beale. During season 3, Assistant Director Owen Granger (Miguel Ferrer), an old friend of Hetty's, is assigned to the team as oversight with her, and manages to develop a cordial relationship with the team despite a frosty start. In season 8, Granger falls ill with cancer, coinciding with Ferrer's real-life battle with the disease; following Ferrer's death, Granger is written to have fled the hospital while in recovery from a failed assassination attempt, and is later confirmed to have died from his illness during the following season. In season 9, Executive Assistant Director Pacific (EADPAC) Shay Mosley (Nia Long) is assigned to the OSP after Hetty leaves on a personal mission to free an old colleague in Vietnam; the team later rescues her when the mission goes wrong. Mosley, meanwhile, sends the team on an unsanctioned mission to Mexico to rescue her son from her criminal ex-husband at the end of the season; while successful in its goals, the mission results in the death of Mosley's trusted assistant, the wounding of most of the rest of team, and the OSP being put under the microscope during the beginning of season 10; Mosley later accepts full responsibility, resigns and goes into hiding with her son to escape a cartel allied with her ex (whom she had killed during the mission). During seasons 11 and 12, rookie agents Fatima Nazami (Medalion Rahimi) and Devin Rountree (Caleb Castille) are recruited to the OSP, while Beale and Jones depart for the private sector at the end of the latter season. With Hetty leaving to do damage control from a prior mission, Admiral Hollace Kilbride (Gerald McRaney), who has assisted the OSP in multiple cases, is assigned in her place as Director of Special Operations in season 13. The series ends with Callen marrying long-time love Anna Kolcheck, and him and Sam taking a "side project" mission to find and rescue Hetty with a new team, which includes old teammates Nate and Nell.

Characters

Main

Recurring

Crossover

Hawaii Five-0

NCIS

NCIS: Hawaiʻi

Other

Episodes

Crossovers

Production

In November 2008, it was reported that a first NCIS spin-off series set in Los Angeles would be introduced with a two-part backdoor pilot during the sixth season of NCIS. Special Agent G. Callen was initially a CIA operative created by Shane Brennan for a series that was never produced. After taking over show runner duties previously held by Donald P. Bellisario on NCIS, he used the potential of a spin-off to bring his story to fruition. Brennan intended for the series to hold a Miami Vice-esque vibe through its two co-leads, Callen and Agent Sam Hanna. However, the character of Lara Macy was written to serve as a parallel for Gibbs, the lead of the original NCIS team. Macy was portrayed by Louise Lombard in the backdoor pilot, but she was not featured in the actual spin-off, and Brennan was able to produce the show as he originally envisioned it. The show was known as NCIS: Legend while in production (referring to the episodes of NCIS in which the spin-off was introduced), and other names considered included OSP: Office of Special Projects, NCIS: OSP and NCIS: Undercover. Filming started in February 2009, with the characters being introduced in the two-part NCIS episode titled "Legend", the first part of which aired on April 28, 2009. This episode served as a backdoor pilot for the series, in a manner similar to the way NCIS was introduced by way of a two-part episode of JAG. In May 2009, CBS picked up the series. On January 20, 2023, it was announced that the series would end after the fourteenth season, with the series finale airing on May 21, 2023.

Lawsuit

In April 2011, NCIS creator Donald Bellisario sued CBS over NCIS: Los Angeles because of his contract which gave him "first opportunity" to develop a spin-off or sequel; the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in June 2012. However, discussions continued between CBS and Bellisario, and in January 2013 the dispute was settled outside of court a week before it was set to go to trial; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed but were described as being amicable.

Broadcast

In Canada, the series aired on Global like its sister series. In Asia, the series airs on AXN, AXN, and TVOne Pakistan. In the UK the series premieres its latest season first on Sky 1, with subsequent runs and repeats then also broadcast on Channel 5. In the Netherlands the series airs on NET5. NCIS: Los Angeles airs on Network 10, 10 Bold, Paramount+ and TVH!TS (formerly TV1). As of December 2019, it airs on Fox Crime after TV H!TS was rebranded as Fox One in Australia. In Israel it airs on Hot zone and yes HBO. In Portugal the series airs on Fox. It was next broadcast on M6 in France, 13th Street in Denmark and Germany, and Rai 2 in Italy. It was broadcast on Fox in Russia and FX in Greece

Home media

The first nine seasons have been released on DVD in Regions 1, 2, and 4, and Season 1 was released on Blu-ray Disc in Region A. The first season DVD release includes the two-part pilot episode that aired as part of the sixth season of NCIS, which were also included on the Season 6 DVD of NCIS. All releases are distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment.

Reception

Critical reception

"Identity", the series' first episode, garnered 18.73 million viewers with a 4.4/11 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic and therefore won its timeslot. It was the second-most-watched show of the week, behind only the original NCIS. Reviews for the show have been mixed. It has a score of 59/100 on Metacritic. According to Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times, "The crime is intriguing and multifaceted, its resolution requiring a nice balance of street smarts and lots of gunfire. But as with the original 'NCIS', the emphasis is on the characters of the team... Los Angeles, meanwhile, looks fabulous, a pleasing mixture of noir and gridlock, and there's an air of stability that's comforting in these uncertain times." The New York Daily News reviewer, David Hinckley, was more critical of the show saying that although "It all adds up to an hour of decent entertainment, and there's room for enough character development to give 'NCIS: Los Angeles' a personality of its own, ... a premiere episode shouldn't feel even a little like something we've already seen." Tom Shales of The Washington Post felt that, "NCIS: Los Angeles gets the job done ... It's a procedural that follows strictly the established procedure, but it has likable characters, dislikable bad guys and the occasional flabbergasting shot of L.A." Robert Bianco of USA Today summarized it as a "serviceable hour that takes the NCIS formula—a light tone and a lot of banter wrapped around a fairly rudimentary investigatory plot—and transfers it to a special, undercover NCIS division in Los Angeles. Nothing more, but also nothing less." The Hollywood Reporter compared the show to The A-Team with "the same lighthearted approach to life-or-death situations. Maybe the biggest change is that 'NCIS: L.A.' achieves its inevitably favorable outcomes with a little more intellect and a little less testosterone." IGN stated that although "NCIS: Los Angeles doesn't exactly reinvent the police procedural... it's another above-average entry, aided by the fact that the people behind the show know what they're doing" and ultimately gave the episode a 7.7/10. On the website of IMDb, the series has a score of 6,8/10 on 57 000 critics.

Ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS.

Awards and nominations

Potential spin-off

On November 5, 2012, Deadline Hollywood reported the first news about a spin-off of NCIS: Los Angeles titled NCIS: Red. The new characters were introduced during a two-part episode of NCIS: Los Angeles. The spin-off was to feature a team of mobile agents, who travel around the country to solve crimes. This would have been the second successive spin-off in the NCIS franchise. However, on May 15, 2013, CBS confirmed that NCIS: Red was officially passed on and would not be moving forward. Scott Grimes reprised his potential spin-off role as NCIS: Red Agent Dave Flynn during the eighth season of NCIS: Los Angeles.

Adaptations

In August 2016, Titan Books published NCIS Los Angeles: Extremis, a novel by Jerome Preisler. Three months later, it was followed by NCIS Los Angeles: Bolthole, written by Jeff Mariotte. Both books contain original stories featuring the characters from the show.