Summary
- NCIS: Sydney, the first international spin-off of the NCIS franchise, will feature a combination of US NCIS agents and Australian law enforcement officers investigating crimes in the Sydney harbor.
- The series will follow a crime procedural format, focusing on the investigation that leads to arrests, unlike its predecessor JAG which focused on legal proceedings in military criminal cases.
- NCIS: Sydney is set to premiere earlier than expected, debuting in Australia on November 10 and in the US on November 13, and will be available to watch on both CBS and Paramount+.
NCIS: Sydney becomes the fourth NCIS spin-off series to get the green light, but the first international series for the franchise. The series will follow a combination of US NCIS agents and Australian law enforcement officers for a new take on the franchise’s crime procedural format. Though most scripted shows have been delayed to 2024, NCIS: Sydney news sees it debuting earlier than expected, still making it to TV sets in 2023.
NCIS itself was a spin-off. The series spun out of JAG. JAG focused on the legal proceedings in military criminal cases, setting much of its drama in the courtroom or in the preparation period before the lawyers made it to the courtroom. In contrast, NCIS focuses on the investigation that leads to the arrest. All the crimes are focused on those taking place within branches of the military or in which military members are victims. So far, all the shows have taken place primarily within the United States, but NCIS: Sydney will investigate crimes taking place in the Sydney harbor.
Most Recent NCIS: Sydney News
The latest NCIS: Sydney news is that it will be the only scripted series debuting on CBS for the new television season in the midst of the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Though CBS is known for having a healthy fall TV schedule that is a mix of reality TV programming and crime procedurals, most of the scripted shows will have to be pushed to 2024. NCIS: Sydney is one of the few TV series that CBS was able to film.
NCIS: Sydney marks the first international NCIS series. The franchise began over two decades earlier with NCIS. Spin-offs NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans followed, both of which have ended their respective runs on the network. NCIS: Hawai’i is the newest spin-off series, debuting in 2021. There was another planned spin-off for NCIS called NCIS: Red that never made it beyond its backdoor pilot as well. However, all those series have been set within the United States. NCIS: Sydney is set in Australia, giving CBS a new direction for the long-running show to go.
CBS will provide fans with sneak peeks at the new NCIS: Sydney season on September 25, which the network has declared NCIS Day. During a marathon of NCIS episodes beginning at 8:00 PM on CBS that night, there will be sneak peeks of NCIS: Sydney.
NCIS: Sydney Is Confirmed
NCIS: Sydney was originally confirmed and announced as in development by CBS in early 2022. The first season of the show went into pre-production later in the year and filmed in early 2023 in Australia.
NCIS: Sydney Release Date
The NCIS: Sydney release date might be earlier than some expect since no other NCIS series has gone back to work in the wake of the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Because the series was put into development and filmed during a different time of the year, however, it’s actually ready for a premiere. NCIS: Sydney will premiere in Australia on November 10. Three days later on November 13, NCIS: Sydney will premiere in the US in the 10:00 PM time slot.
Where To Watch NCIS: Sydney
NCIS: Sydney will be available to watch on both CBS and on Paramount+. NCIS: Sydney will actually first air on Paramount+ Australia before it makes its debut in the US on CBS. Once premiering on CBS, it will be available to watch on Paramount+ in the US the next day.
NCIS: Sydney Cast
The NCIS: Sydney cast includes mostly Australian actors in the main roles. That’s largely because the show will feature the Australian Federal Police teaming with the US Navy Criminal Investigative Services during the storylines.
Leading the NCIS: Sydney cast are Olivia Swann as NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey and Todd Lasance as Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey. They are each the leaders of their respective teams in the show. Swann is likely best known for her role as Astra Logue in season 6 of the CW’s Legends of Tomorrow while Lasance is likely best known for the series Spartacus and The Secrets She Keeps.
Joining Swann and Lasance in the series are:
Sean Sagar as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson
Tuuli Narkle as AFP Liaison Officer Constable Evie Cooper
Mavournee Hazel as AFP Forensic Scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson
William McInnes as AFP Forensic Pathologist Dr. Roy Penrose
Veteran NCIS franchise fans might be hoping to see actor Kurt Yaeger in a guest role in NCIS: Sydney. Yaeger made history in the franchise with an appearance in NCIS: Hawai’i. He’s appeared in every single NCIS series so far, and each time, he’s played a different character. It might only be a matter of time before he appears in NCIS: Sydney. There’s also always the potential for characters from other NCIS shows to appear in the new series as the franchise does enjoy crossover storylines.
NCIS: Sydney Crew
Not much is known about the crew behind-the-scenes of NCIS: Sydney. When the series was first announced in 2022, it was also announced by CBS that Shane Brennan, the creator of the now-canceled NCIS spin-off series NCIS: Los Angeles, would be attached to NCIS: Sydney. While Brennan might still be attached as an executive producer, NCIS: Sydney is created by Morgan O’Neill. O’Neill is an actor/writer/producer who has worked extensively in Australia. He previously worked on the mini-series Les Norton.
NCIS: Sydney Story
The NCIS: Sydney story will likely follow a “case of the week” format just as most crime procedurals, including the other NCIS series do. While each episode might focus on a single mystery, the NCIS franchise as a whole focuses on crimes connected to the military. NCIS investigative teams work on criminal cases in which military members are the victims or the perpetrators. NCIS: Sydney, however, will be different because the team isn’t made solely of NCIS investigators.
Instead, NCIS: Sydney teams NCIS investigators with local law enforcement to create a task force with the specific goal of working criminal cases in their shared jurisdiction. The official summary from CBS states:
With rising international tensions in the Indo-Pacific, a brilliant and eclectic team of U.S. NCIS agents and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are grafted into a multinational task force to keep naval crimes in check in the most contested patch of ocean on the planet.
NCIS: Sydney Trailer
CBS has released its first look at NCIS: Sydney with a trailer that spans nearly two minutes. Of course, the first part of that trailer features footage from NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i to indicate that the franchise is expanding.
The focus of the NCIS: Sydney trailer is on the tense relationship between the two different agencies. That tension is mainly between the two team leaders: Michelle Mackey and JD Demsey. While the former calls cases “my investigation,” the latter notes that they’re in “his harbor.” The trailer hints that the first season will see the task force working out some growing pains as they learn to work together and share the duties of the investigations. NCIS: Sydney will bring a new dynamic to the NCIS franchise as a result.