CBS unveiled plans for the first-ever international edition of NCIS on Tuesday, announcing the premiere date for NCIS: Sydney.
“With rising international tensions in the Indo-Pacific, a brilliant and eclectic team of U.S. NCIS agents and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are grafted into a multinational taskforce to keep naval crimes in check in the most contested patch of ocean on the planet,” the show’s press release reads.
NCIS: Sydney is the fifth series to join the NCIS franchise, joining NCIS, NCIS: Hawaii, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans.
“NCIS is one of the most popular series in the world and we’re thrilled to expand this franchise with a uniquely Australian twist,” Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, said via press release. “Featuring the stunning backdrop of Australia, the new series will incorporate the high-stakes intrigue, humor and camaraderie that have kept fans captivated by the NCIS teams for over two decades.”
The series will star Olivia Swann as NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey and Todd Lasance as her 2IC AFP counterpart, Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey. The protagonists are joined by Sean Sagar as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson; Tuuli Narkle as AFP liaison officer Constable Evie Cooper; Mavournee Hazel as AFP forensic scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson and William McInnes as AFP forensic pathologist Dr Roy Penrose.
NCIS: Sydney will premiere on Nov. 13 on CBS, airing just after the original NCIS.
ET joined the stars of the flagship show earlier this year, when the team filmed their milestone 450th episode.
Though longtime star Mark Harmon exited the series early in the 19th season, NCIS star Wilmer Valderrama credited his former co-star for leading the show to where it is today.
“What NCIS has done beautifully, and I got to say, we’re here on the shoulders of so many incredible actors that were here before us, actors who, some are here or some have passed, guest stars who have come and gone, and this show has seen so many careers blossom,” Valderrama, who joined the series as Nick Torres in season 14, told ET. “So you think about what this show has meant, not only for the fans, but to our industry and what it’s done for us as a community of actors who are looking for that break or to be discovered.”
“It is also a big tribute to Mark Harmon, who led this beautifully for hundreds of episodes and was able to keep this boat with the integrity and the value set that it still performs today,” he credited. “Then come full circle, all of us coming in and being disruptive enough to continue to reinvent it for the audience. So there’s a recipe of things that have to really go right in order for you to get to 450. And we can’t take credit for the first 300, but I will say that it’s beautiful to stand in the same ground as this team.”
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