NCIS is gearing up for its first trip across international waters with the release of NCIS: Sydney, the franchise’s first global spin-off following three US-based versions. The show will finally premiere in less than a week, debuting its first episode on November 14 in the United States (followed by NCIS reruns), but will be out on November 10 on Paramount+ Australia.
In a recent interview, showrunner Morgan O’Neill discussed giving well-known characters fresh perspectives and expanding the cherished brand into an entirely new setting with TV Insider.
“The challenge when you’re creating another iteration of such a famous franchise is that you don’t want to repeat characters,” he told the newspaper. It is not appropriate to just adapt the prefabricated version of something and call it your own.
“And when it comes to a character like the forensic scientist in a show like this, people go so quickly to the character of Abby [played by Pauley Perrette] because she’s so iconic.”
Pauley portrayed the fan favorite forensic scientist on NCIS from 2003-2018, finally leaving the show behind after a 15-year run following disagreements on set with fellow co-lead Mark Harmon. Morgan continued: “She kind of defined that role. We wanted to make sure that we weren’t replicating that. Then we found Mavournee Hazel who plays Bluebird Gleeson, who is out of her depth.
“She has complete imposter syndrome like she shouldn’t be there. She’s too young, she’s too inexperienced. She’s carrying a whole bunch of really unusual, interesting backstory that we’ll peel away as the seasons go on.”
He added: “But she’s incredibly good at her job. She’s kind of socially awkward. I just found the combination of all those things made her feel very real to me. I’ve worked with a lot of people who work in the world of science, and she just felt like she resonated that sense of intellectual power and social awkwardness, which I loved.”
The cast of NCIS: Sydney is led by Olivia Swann as NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey and Todd Lasance as Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey. They are joined by William McInnes as AFP Forensic Pathologist Dr. Roy Penrose, Sean Sagar as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson, Tuuli Narkle as AFP Liaison Officer Constable Evie Cooper, and Mavournee as AFP Forensic Scientist Bluebird ‘Blue’ Gleeson.
“Being the first international version of a global franchise comes with all sorts of challenges, one of which is how you integrate it into the new country,” Morgan added, referring to the change in dynamic of transporting a long-running crime procedural to a new nation and continent.
“NCIS exists in Australia, but when it exists in Australia, it does so under Australian law, so there has to be a kind of jurisdictional power-sharing that goes on.”Therefore, in that sense, you have, I believe, the first blended family in the history of the NCIS series, where these two agencies—two very different cultures—come together and have to figure out a way to make it work.”From that vantage point, there’s a ton of plot and tons of fun to be had because two very distinct worlds are actually coming together.”