From originally being a spin-off of JAG, NCIS has long surpassed its predecessor and become its own franchise. The first spin-off, NCIS: Los Angeles, was introduced with a two-part backdoor pilot in NCIS Season 6 Episodes 22 and 23, “Legend.” The episodes saw the debut of Chris O’Donnell’s G. Callen, Daniela Ruah’s Kensi Blye, Peter Cambor’s Nate Getz, and LL Cool J’s Sam Hanna, who went on to lead NCIS: LA Season 1. Although Cambor was limited to a recurring role in Season 2 and onwards, O’Donnell, Ruah, and LL Cool J continued as the main stars for 323 episodes spread across 14 seasons before NCIS: LA was canceled. While most of the main characters’ stories were given a satisfying conclusion in NCIS: LA Season 14 Episodes 20 and 21, “New Beginnings,” the series finale teased that Sam’s story would continue in NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3. That’s the beauty of having so many spin-offs set in the same universe and timeline.
LL Cool J joined NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3 in a recurring guest role, as Sam would help out Jane Tennant’s (Vanessa Lachey) team from time to time, while he was also starting up NCIS ELITE — Elevated Logics Intelligence and Tactics (apparently, the last “E” is silent) — a squad to deal with dangerous, top-secret missions. However, in NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3, Episode 9, “Spill the Tea,” the ELITE members were trapped in an airlock room and exposed to a deadly toxin while Sam couldn’t do anything but watch. While he avenged them in the next episode, it was also the NCIS: Hawai’i series finale as the show ended up getting canceled. Due to the abrupt cancellation, the series ended on a cliffhanger, while Sam’s storyline was left in the wind. Thankfully, the NCIS creative team found a way to include him for a guest role in NCIS Season 22. In just one episode (that wasn’t part of a crossover), Sam perfectly fit with the NCIS team, proving why he should join them officially. But if he isn’t, there’s a lot of room to continue Sam’s journey in a potential NCIS limited series, similar to NCIS: Tony & Ziva.
Sam Hanna Is One of the Best NCIS Franchise Characters
Sam Hanna is a perfect combination of some of the best NCIS characters. While Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon in NCIS, and a younger version played by Austin Stowell in NCIS: Origins) was a Marine before NCIS (back then it was referred to as NIS), Sam joined the Navy SEALs before becoming an agent. Sam is proud of his time as a SEAL and gets frustrated whenever fellow SEALs disgrace the name. Although Sam may be this hulking person who can sometimes be quick to anger, he’s also a big teddy bear to the people he cares about, just like Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama). Both of them are skilled fighters who you can count on when a fight breaks out. One of the best parts of NCIS: LA was the hand-to-hand fight scenes. While not on the same scale as something out of Daredevil: Born Again, it highlighted Sam’s combat training and showed why he shouldn’t be messed with. A potential NCIS spin-off series starring his character could be more action-oriented with a full-season budget devoted to a shorter episode order.
Sam has also experienced a lot of trauma in his life, even before his time as an NCIS agent. Like Jessica Knight (Katrina Law), Sam feels responsible for the death of his NCIS team. As NCIS Season 22, Episode 18 “After the Storm” revealed, Sam took a leave of absence from the agency for a change of pace after the death of his fellow NCIS ELITE members. As someone who had experienced combat overseas on the front lines, Sam devoted his efforts to getting congressional support on Capitol Hill to help soldiers around the world. Even though he needed a break from the action, Sam knows he has more to offer than his strength and investigative skills.
One of the best things about NCIS is that it’s a family show at its core. While it mostly sees family members popping up from time to time, most of the main cast members of these shows don’t have kids of their own. But for Sam, Tennant, and Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen), who all bonded during the NCISverse crossover event, they’re all single parents trying their best to raise their kids while they risk their lives every day at NCIS. Sam’s family isn’t featured much throughout NCIS: LA, so his spin-off could also highlight more of him as a single father, especially as his kids are older and can begin to understand why their dad does what he does.
A Sam Hanna ‘NCIS’ Spin-Off Could Answer What Happened to Hetty Lange
The end of NCIS Season 22, Episode 18 blew the door wide open to continue an unresolved storyline from the NCIS: LA series finale. At the end of NCIS: LA, Hetty Lange (Linda Hunt) sends Sam and Callen a letter with plane tickets to Morocco to see if they could help her with a “small side project.” When they arrive, they find Nell Jones (Renee Felice Smith), with Nate, Vostanik Sabatino (Renee Felice Smith), and a “new guy” (played by Chris O’Donnell’s real-life son, Chip O’Donnell). They share that Hetty is in “a bit of a pickle” that they’re trying to help her with. Since then, there hasn’t been any hint of this storyline. But at the end of NCIS Season 22, Episode 18, Sam misses the thrill of being a field agent and plans to quit his Capitol Hill job. Before he comes back to the agency, he says he has some things to take care of first. NCIS director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) questions if it has something to do with Hetty, who hasn’t been seen physically since NCIS: LA Season 13. Vance has heard that she’s been seen on the wrong side of the DMZ, but Sam says it’s better that Vance doesn’t know.
Because this storyline is so intrinsically tied to NCIS: LA, it doesn’t make sense for it to continue in NCIS Season 23. It obviously wouldn’t make sense to follow it up in NCIS: Origins since it’s set in the past, and the DMZ wouldn’t fall under the NCIS: Sydney team’s jurisdiction. With that in mind, Sam helping Hetty out could continue in a limited series. Since NCIS: LA had to wrap up their series before devoting time to Hetty’s story, a short series would be perfect to finally close the book on this storyline that fans have been waiting for. If beloved NCIS characters like Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) are getting a spin-off, Sam and his Office of Special Projects (OSP) team deserve a definitive final swan song to tie up all loose ends.
Sam can still be the lead character, while notable NCIS: LA characters like Nell, Nate, and Vostanik can return as support and be given a shot at redeeming their characters after their respective exits from the series. Due to real-life problems affecting Hunt’s ability to return as Hetty, a shorter production schedule compared to a whole season of television could make it easier for her to return and give Hetty a proper send-off. One NCIS: LA character that most likely wouldn’t be returning for this potential spin-off is Eric Christian Olsen’s Marty Deeks. In an interview with TV Line, he notes that his desire to return to the NCIS franchise is “not so much” there while he focuses on Matlock as an executive producer.
Even with his story spread across NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and NCIS: Hawai’i, Sam’s character arc is still ripe for picking. There are so many layers to who he is as an agent, father, and friend. It seems that the NCIS writers have given NCIS: LA fans a hint of proper closure for the series that they’ve been waiting for. The Sam Hanna spin-off would not only give LL Cool J a chance to shine as the sole lead of a series, but also let his fellow cast members pop back into the franchise.
