Hello there! Hawaii / NCIS: We’re eager to return to the sun-kissed beaches of Hawaii as Season 3 of the fourth season of the Vanessa Lachey-led NCIS television series premieres on CBS. NCIS: Hawai’i, which was developed by Matt Bosack, Jan Nash, and Christopher Silber, is the first show in the franchise with a female lead. Jane Tennant (Lachey) is the first female Special Agent-in-Charge at the NCIS: Hawai’i Field Office. The police procedural follows Tennant as she leads a team of special agents through investigations of high-stakes military crimes in the Aloha State. It also welcomes LL Cool J’s Sam Hanna, who previously starred in NCIS: Los Angeles, into the fold on a more permanent basis (more on that later).
In normal times, we would be gearing up for the fall return of network mainstays like NCIS: Hawai’i. This year has proven to be anything but ordinary, thanks to the writers and actors strikes seeking fair compensation. We’re keeping you up to date on all the news as it relates to NCIS: Hawai’i, from the Season 3 release date to how the addition of LL Cool J came to be, and much more.
NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3 latest news
Season 3 will start production on Monday, Dec. 4 with a traditional Hawaiian blessing on Oahu, CBS announced. LL Cool J will also be in attendance, and will guest star in Season 3 as Sam Hanna, his character from NCIS: Los Angeles.
NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3 release date
NCIS: Hawai’i will return for Season 3 on Monday, Feb. 12 at 10/9c. It will follow the Season 21 premiere of NCIS.
Is LL Cool J joining NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3?
Yes! The actor made a surprise cameo as Sam Hanna in the Season 2 finale, resurfacing just one day after wrapping up a 14-season run on NCIS: Los Angeles. The rapper joins NCIS: Hawai’i as a recurring guest star for Season 3.
In the second season NCIS: Hawai’i finale, Jane and Kate Whistler (Tori Anderson) engaged in a fierce gunfight in Caracas, Venezuela, after learning that their enemy Adrian Creel (Jay Ali), who had been presumed dead after Tennant and her CIA mentor Maggie Shaw (Julie White) detonated a car bomb, was in fact alive and seeking retribution. Until a sniper shot hit one of Adrian’s goons, Tennant and Whistler’s chances weren’t looking good. Sam Hanna, who traveled from Morocco, where he was last seen on NCIS: Los Angeles, was the man behind the camera. Tennant was assured by Sam that she always has “people looking out for her,” adding, “If you need anything else, you got my number.”
“All of us at NCIS: Hawai’i have been huge fans of LL Cool J for years and couldn’t be more thrilled or honored to be adding his spectacular talent to our ohana for Season 3,” said executive producers Bosack, Nash, and Silber in a joint statement in May 2023. Lachey referenced the three-show NCIS crossover in January 2023 — the first time she and LL Cool J shared the screen — as a precursor to him coming aboard for Season 3. “We have had so much fun spreading the aloha to NCIS and NCIS: LA with the triple crossover. Now, we have the amazing opportunity to bring Sam Hanna to Hawai’i to help the island solve some cases and maybe have a few laughs in the process,” the actress and executive producer said. “Welcome to the ohana, Todd [Smith, LL Cool J’s real name]! It’s going to be a fun ride!”
What will NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3 be about?
Nothing has been revealed about what the next season of NCIS: Hawai’i will entail, but we’re guessing there will be major consequences for Tennant after what transpired in the Season 2 finale. Though she and her mentor Maggie were successful in taking Adrian Creel off the board, it came with a lot of strings. Tennant’s original plan was to arrest him, but that soon went out the window when Maggie shot and killed Adrian, explaining that she could not leave him alive since she had a lot to lose if she did. With Maggie on the lam and uncertainty surrounding how this will affect Tennant professionally, Season 3 is shaping up to be a very interesting one.
Lachey’s co-star Noah Mills, who plays her right-hand man Jesse Boone, hinted as much. He teased “major changes coming” for the team in Season 3, perhaps a nod to the added presence of Sam Hanna. “It will be a different dynamic, I’ll put it that way, in the beginning of Season 3,” the actor told Entertainment Tonight in May 2023, noting “[Tennant’s] past and some of her emotional decisions do put other people in jeopardy and do pull us out of our job description. It’ll be interesting to see, legally, what comes down on her from the higher-ups of the NCIS.”
Who will be in NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3?
Other than LL Cool J attending, no news regarding cast additions or departures have been made. Thus, the primary ensemble should continue to exist for the time being. There’s always a chance we might see the return of supporting cast members like Henry Ian Cusick’s Supervisory Agent John Swift and Enver Gjokaj’s Captain Joe Milius, whose chemistry with Tennant left many of us wanting more. However, we’ll have to wait for formal confirmation.
Here are the expected Season 3 cast members:
Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant
Alex Tarrant as Kai Holman
Noah Mills as Jesse Boone
Yasmine Al-Bustami as Lucy Tara
Jason Antoon as Ernie Malik
Tori Anderson as Kathrine Marie “Kate” Whistler
Kian Talan as Alex Tennant
LL Cool J as Sam Hanna
Shows like NCIS: Hawai’i
Looking for more shows like NCIS: Hawai’i? Check out our list of military crime dramas to binge-watch.
Where can I watch NCIS: Hawai’i?
The first two seasons of NCIS: Hawai’i are available to stream on Paramount+.