The cast of NCIS: New Orleans got a bit scared when real police came scurrying to set during an intense scene that seemed too real during filming
The cast of NCIS: New Orleans got a bit spooked when real police came scurrying to set during an intense scene that seemed too real.
When a jewelry store heist scene for the CBS procedural drama was filming back in 2017, cops came on and were pointing their guns at the actors who were just playing out their parts.
The network reportedly forgot to let law enforcement and local citizens know that they were shooting the show at the time.
In the episode, masked thieves jumped out of a van with their fake weapons and the jewelry shop owner, who was watching nearby, actually believed it was real. They phoned the police and a SWAT team quickly arrived.
The actors involved were reportedly fearful of the incident and sued CBS for the traumatizing situation, according to TMZ.
The outlet reported that the two stars, as well as the store owner, filed a suit against CBS in Los Angeles in 2020 for “allegedly misleading them into shooting a realistic ‘guerrilla-style’ armed robbery in broad daylight without proper permits or giving cops and neighbors a heads up.”
“This prompted cops to race to the scene and point their very real weapons at the actors … who say they could have been killed by the officers with one false move. The three men claim the ordeal was terrifying and traumatizing … and they’re still feeling the psychological effects,” TMZ added.
CBS fired back and said that the case should have been filed in Louisiana where the show was filmed and not in LA. Therefore, due to Louisiana’s statute of limitations running out, the actors lost the case.
NCIS: New Orleans premiered in 2014 and concluded after seven seasons in May 2021. The series starred Scott Bakula, Lucas Black, CCH Pounder, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Charles Michael Davis, Zoe McLellan, Rob Kerkovich and Shalita Grant.
The NCIS franchise has spawned several other spinoffs, including NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: Hawaiʻi, NCIS: Sydney and NCIS: Origins. The parent series first debuted in 2003 and is still going strong today on the small screen.
As for Origins, it is the first prequel in the NCIS universe, showing a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by Austin Stowell as a young adult, and Mark Harmon as his older counterpart), in the years prior to the events of NCIS.