On Monday, April 21, the iconic LL Cool J made a grand comeback to the NCIS universe as Sam Hanna in the flagship series, but only in a guest capacity. He appeared in “After the Storm,” Season 22, Episode 18 of the procedural, which ended with the possibility of Sam rejoining the agency, thereby hinting at LL Cool J’s reappearance in future episodes of NCIS. Although nothing is set in stone yet, executive producer Steven D. Binder has echoed fans’ wishes, expressing hopes of seeing the TV star once more on the military series while also addressing the chances.
During an interview with TV Insider, Binder maintained that LL Cool J, like other NCIS stars, will always have a home with the franchise. However, while he would love to see the actor-rapper onscreen again, there’s the issue of scheduling. The EP said:
“I, as a showrunner, say LL always has a place at NCIS. They all do. They’re all great. They’re pros. We love having them. It’s just people have very busy schedules, especially he does. So, making it work is a logistical challenge and probably the bottleneck m ore than anything to why you may or may not see more. Not because there’s not a desire and a will, just because scheduling is very difficult.”
LL Cool J Portrays a Significant ‘NCIS’ Character
In addition to his most recent stint on NCIS, LL Cool J is widely known for appearing as NCIS Senior Special Agent Sam Hanna in NCIS: Los Angeles for fourteen seasons, which ran on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 21, 2023. He also portrayed the same character in a recurring guest role in another spin-off, NCIS: Hawaiʻi, before it was cancelled in 2024 after three seasons. Meanwhile, ahead of LL Cool J’s return in NCIS Season 22, co-star Diona Reasonover, who plays Kasie Hines, voiced her thoughts to Collider’s Ryan Cortero about Sam’s significance to the NCIS team. Supporting his comeback, she said:
“It’s always so much fun when Sam comes and, kind of like, disrupts the normal flow of the team. I think that his kind of involvement in the case…I’m not sure if we could have the case without him.”
LL Cool J appeared in the April 21 episode of NCIS Season 22. Stay tuned to Collider for further information about the cherished franchise.