With NCIS: Hawaii, the series has expanded beyond of the Lower 48, covering the entire country. With NCIS: Sydney, set to debut on CBS on Tuesday, November 14, and available for streaming onParamount+ on the same day, the brand is now expanding internationally.
The fifth season of NCIS, which was filmed on location in an Australian harbor city, is set against the backdrop of Indo-Pacific tensions between nations. American NCIS agents work alongside Australian Federal Police (AFP) in a multinational task force that aims “to keep naval crimes in check in the most contested patch of ocean on the planet,” as CBS puts it.
Showrunner Morgan O’Neill told TV Insider earlier this month that “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.” “That whole idea, that NCIS Sydney arrives to town and they immediately have to work with and under the authority of the Australian Federal Police, is the foundation of NCIS: Sydney. Of course, that’s a lot of fun since, depending on the situation, things either come together well or not. Conflicts between cultures are evident.
In on that fun are the six series regulars, some of whom you may recognize from TV roles of years past, in the photo gallery below.
Olivia Swann (NCIS Special Agent Captain Michelle Mackey)
Arrowverse fans know Swann as Astra Logue from DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on The CW. She also starred in this year’s film River Wild alongside Leighton Meester and Adam Brody.
Todd Lasance (AFP Liaison Officer Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey)
On television, you’ve seen Lasance play Julius Caesar in Spartacus, Julian in The Vampire Diaries, and Edward Clariss/The Rival in The Flash. In film, he joined Michael B. Jordan in the 2021 Prime Video film Without Remorse.
Sean Sagar (NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson)
Sagar has recurred in the TV series Fate: The Winx Saga, Buffering, and Sistas and starred as Monk in the BBC One series Our Girl. He has also appeared in the Guy Ritchie films The Gentlemen and The Covenant.
Tuuli Narkle (AFP Liaison Officer Constable Evie Cooper)
In her native Australia, Narkle starred in the TV shows All My Friends Are Racist, Mystery Road: Origin, and Bad Behaviour. Her theater credits include Sydney Theatre Company productions of Black Is the New White and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
Mavournee Hazel (AFP Forensic Scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson)
Hazel spent three and a half years playing Piper Willis on the Aussie soap Neighbours and headlined the spinoff webseries Neighbours: Pipe Up. Her television résumé also includes parts in the TV shows Halifax: Retribution and Shantaram.
William McInnes (AFP Forensic Pathologist Dr. Roy Penrose)
McInnes, who has won two Logie Awards and two Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, starred in Australian TV shows SeaChange, Blue Heelers, and The Newsreader, the latter of which was available for streaming on The Roku Channel in the United States. In addition, he was Auction Room’s host.