NCIS: New Orleans Information

NCIS: New Orleans is an American television series combining elements of the military drama and police procedural genres that premiered on Tuesday, September 23, 2014, following its parent series NCIS. The pilot was written by Gary Glasberg. The series stars Scott Bakula and CCH Pounder, and is executively produced by Glasberg, Mark Harmon, James Hayman and Chris Silber. The series is set and filmed in New Orleans. It is the third series of the NCIS franchise.

On April 18, 2018, CBS renewed the series for a fifth season. The season premiered on September 25, 2018.

Premise

NCIS: New Orleans follows a fictional team of Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents stationed out of New Orleans, Louisiana and led by Special Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride (Scott Bakula). The team focuses on crimes that involve personnel in the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and their territory ranges from the Mississippi River to the Texas Panhandle. The agents under Pride's supervision include Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black), a former Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputy recruited by Pride following Hurricane Katrina; Meredith Brody (Zoe McLellan), a transfer from the NCIS Great Lakes field office, who has worked as a Special Agent Afloat and is keen to leave her past behind as she moves to New Orleans; Sonja Percy (Shalita Grant), a former ATF special agent and LaSalle's partner; and Tammy Gregorio (Vanessa Ferlito), an FBI prodigy recruited after a short stint investigating Pride. Support personnel for the team consist of Dr. Loretta Wade (CCH Pounder), the coroner for Jefferson Parish; Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich), a forensics specialist who assists Wade and later becomes an NCIS agent; and Patton Plame (Daryl Mitchell), a computer specialist. When Pride is promoted in Season 5, NCIS agent Hannah Khoury (Necar Zadegan) transfers to the New Orleans office to replace him as the team's direct supervisor.

Cast and characters

• Scott Bakula as Dwayne "King" Cassius Pride, NCIS Supervisory Special Agent / Special Agent in Charge
• Lucas Black as Christopher LaSalle, NCIS Special Agent
• Zoe McLellan as Meredith Brody, NCIS Special Agent (seasons 1-2)
• Rob Kerkovich as Sebastian Lund, forensic scientist / NCIS Forensics Agent
• CCH Pounder as Loretta Wade, medical examiner
• Shalita Grant as Sonja Percy, ATF Agent / NCIS Special Agent (seasons 2-4; recurring previously)
• Daryl "Chill" Mitchell as Patton Plame, NCIS computer specialist (season 2-; recurring previously)
• Vanessa Ferlito as Tammy Gregorio, FBI Agent / NCIS Special Agent (season 3-)
• Necar Zadegan as Hannah Khoury, NCIS Supervisory Special Agent (season 5-)

Production

On January 12, 2015, NCIS: New Orleans was renewed for a second season that premiered on September 22, 2015. On March 25, 2016, CBS renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on September 20, 2016. Show creator and executive producer Gary Glasberg, age 50, died unexpectedly on September 28, 2016.

On March 23, 2017, CBS renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on September 26, 2017. On April 18, 2018, CBS renewed the series for a fifth season, which premiered on September 25, 2018.

Casting

Scott Bakula was cast as the series lead on February 2014 with CCH Pounder, Zoe McLellan and Lucas Black joining soon thereafter. Rob Kerkovich joined the cast in July. He was the final original cast member to join the series, though Daryl Mitchell and Shalita Grant joined the series as regulars during season 2. Both had recurred previously.

In July 2016, Zoe McLellan, who plays Special Agent Meredith Brody, left the series "for creative reasons", and Vanessa Ferlito joined the cast as FBI Special Agent Tammy Gregorio, a series regular. On February 2, 2018, it was announced that Shalita Grant would leave the series in the 17th episode of season 4; she would ultimately depart in the 19th episode. On August 24, 2018, it was announced that Necar Zadegan would join the cast as Special Agent Hannah Khoury in season 5.

Brad Kern controversy

Brad Kern became the series showrunner in January 2016. Within a year he had become the focus of two investigations for inappropriate behavior toward women. On May 17, 2018, it was reported that Kern was exiting his role as executive producer and showrunner, but would remain as consulting producer, with Chris Silber replacing him as showrunner. Kern was placed on suspension in June 2018, when CBS launched a third investigation into claims of harassment, which ultimately led to his firing by CBS in October 2018.

Syndication

In December 2017, TNT acquired the rerun rights to the series.

Episodes

International broadcast

NCIS: New Orleans airs simultaneously on Global in Canada. In Australia, the series premiered on Network Ten on October 7, 2014. The series has been sold to Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, which premiered it on February 13, 2015. From season 4 onwards, the series will premiere on Fox UK on Fridays at 9PM starting on July 20, 2018. The series has also been sold to Prime in New Zealand and Fox in Asia. On April 2, 2015, the series began airing on South Africa's M-Net cable TV service and is broadcast to several other sub-Saharan African nations via DStv.

Reception

Seasonal ratings

Season	Timeslot (ET)	No. of episodes	Premiered		Ended		TV season	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
			Date	Viewers (in millions)	Date	Viewers (in millions)
1	Tuesday 9:00 pm	23	September 23, 2014	17.22	May 12, 2015	13.61	2014-15	4	17.42
2		24	September 22, 2015	12.62	May 17, 2016	13.30	2015-16	6	14.75
3	Tuesday 10:00 pm	24	September 20, 2016	11.12	May 16, 2017	9.22	2016-17	10	13.34
4		24	September 26, 2017	8.78	May 15, 2018	9.44	2017-18	13	12.30
5		24	September 25, 2018	8.97	May 14, 2019		2018-19

Critical reception

NCIS: New Orleans has received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season of the show a rating of 65%, based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's consensus reads, "With a solid cast in a beautiful locale, NCIS: New Orleans makes extending this well-worn franchise look like the Big Easy." Metacritic gives the show a score of 55 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

In late September 2014, The Wraps journalist Jason Hughes reviewed the pilot episode of the series, praising the music, the use of the city of New Orleans, and CBS' decision to cast Scott Bakula as "one of the most likable leading men in television, so they're set there."

David Hinckley of the New York Daily News gave a mixed but critical review of the pilot episode, saying there is a "Crescent City flavor here. But in the larger picture, not much on this menu is unfamiliar." Liz Shannon Miller and Ben Travers of Indiewire said that NCIS is like "the obelisk in 2001: A Space Odyssey, it's an awe-inspiring, inescapable presence in the broadcast line-up. NCIS on CBS: It is here. It has always been here. It forever will be."

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2015	People's Choice Awards	Favorite New TV Drama	NCIS: New Orleans
		Favorite Actor in a New TV Series	Scott Bakula