Who is on board for these investigative stories situated in Australia..?
NCIS, which debuted on CBS 20 years ago, is about to enter its 21st season, and the franchise as a whole is still going strong.
Sure, NCIS: Los Angeles ended earlier this year after 14 seasons, and NCIS: New Orleans ended in 2021 after seven seasons, but NCIS: Sydney has now joined this procedural family, with NCIS: Hawai’i returning for Season 3 and NCIS: New Orleans ending in 2021.
This is the first NCIS episode set outside of the United States, and while it will premiere on CBS, it will primarily be available to Paramount+ customers throughout the world to stream.
NCIS: Sydney, created by Morgan O’Neill and executive produced by Sara Richardson and Sue Seeary, features agents from the United States’ Naval Cr1minal Investigative Service collaborating with officers from Australia’s Federal Police (AFP) to investigate cr1mes in, you guessed it, Sydney, Australia.
In reality, the agency’s Australian field office is in Perth (per the NCIS website), which is at the opposite end of the country, but I digress. Let’s take a look at our primary cast of characters ahead of the show’s premiere.
Olivia Swann
Olive Swann made her television debut in an episode of the British soap drama Doctors before landing her largest part to date: Astra Logue in Legends of Tomorrow, the third TV show featured in The CW’s Arrowverse franchise. Initially portrayed as an antagonist who was unintentionally thrown to Hell by John Constantine and sought retribution as an adult, she later redeemed herself, joined the title team of protagonists, and remained until Legends of Tomorrow was abruptly cancelled after seven seasons.
Swann is now featured in NCIS: Sydney as Michelle Mackey, the NCIS Special Agent-in-Charge of the agency’s Sydney operation. Swann is the second Arrowverse alum to be cast as a lead in an NCIS episode, following Katrina Law, who appeared as Nyssa al Ghul on Arrow before being cast as Jessica Knight on the regular NCIS.
Todd Lasance
Todd Lasance is probably familiar to Australians from shows like Home and Away, Rescue: Special Ops, Crownies, and Bite Club. For American viewers, he’s most known for his roles as Julius Caesar in Spartacus: War of the Damned, Edward Clariss, a.k.a. The Rival, on The Flash, and acting opposite Michael B. Jordan in Without Remorse. He plays Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey, Michelle Mackey’s 2IC AFP equivalent, in NCIS: Sydney, so anticipate to see them in a lot of moments together.
Sean Sagar
Michelle Mackey will be accompanied to Sydney, Australia, by fellow NCIS agent DeShawn Jackson, played by Sean Sagar. His most notable roles include Marco in Fate: The Winx Saga, Mal in The Gentlemen, Robbie in Buffering, and Charlie “Jizzy” Crow in The Covenant. Jackson may not have as much experience as Mackey, but he will surely be a valuable addition on the field.
Tuuli Narkle
Tulli Narkle is probably unknown to most American viewers, but NCIS: Sydney will change that. She appears in the spinoff as Constable Evie Cooper, the AFP Liaison Officer, which is similar to how Marty Deeks spent a long period on NCIS: Los Angeles as the LAPD’s liaison officer (speaking of which, Eric Christian Olsen is willing to appear on Sydney). You may have seen her in All My Friends Are Racist, Mystery Road: Origin, or Bad Behaviour if you watch Australian television.
Mavournee Hazel
Now that we’ve covered the individuals who will be directly pursuing evil cr1minals, let’s look at the ones who will be assisting them from behind closed doors. Mavournee Hazel’s Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson, the AFP forensic scientist, comes first. In other words, Blue, like Katie Hines on NCIS (and before her, Abby Sciuto until Pauley Perrette departed the show after 15 seasons), will be examining evidence brought in by field agents and, presumably, providing computer skills. Along with her role as Piper Willis on the Australian serial opera Neighbours from 2015 to 2019, Hazel participated in two episodes of Shantaram, which can be viewed with an Apple TV+ subscription.
William McInnes
Finally, William McInnes was cast as AFP forensic pathologist Roy Penrose, which means he’s the one performing autopsies on remains brought back to base, much like the late David McCallum’s Ducky Mallard did on NCIS for many years and Brian Dietzen’s Jimmy Palmer is doing currently. McInnes has been appearing in Australian productions for over three decades, with credits including The Heartbreak Kid, Dirty Deeds, SeaChange, Blue Heelers, The Slap (the original show, not the American adaptation that aired on NBC), Total Control, and The Newsreader.
NCIS: Sydney starts on CBS on Tuesday, November 14 at 10 p.m. ET, and although Paramount+ with SHOWTIME users will be able to watch live, Paramount+ Essential subscribers will have to wait until the following day to stream the episode. Check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what other programs are coming out before the end of the year, and keep an eye on CinemaBlend for updates on when NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i will return.
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