'NCIS' Season 23 Episode 17: Sam Hanna returns to help team face a mysterious killer in the building
The next episode of 'NCIS' will see the return of a familiar face to the procedural drama series. The episode titled 'Reboot' is directed by Lionel Coleman and written by Scott Williams and is set to drop on April 21 on CBS. TVLine shared an exclusive clip from episode 17, which shows Senior Field Agent Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) returning to the NCIS office. Hanna is greeted by Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover), who remarks on his timing by saying, "Do you just, like, magically appear whenever somebody mysteriously dies?" But Hanna explains that his surprise visit is due to a last-minute flight delay, "I had a long layover on my way to visit a buddy in Dubai, and I figured I'd catch a few winks on Ducky's MPR couch," he says.
However, Hanna does not get much rest, as Agent Alden Parker (Gary Cole) enlists his help in tracking down a killer who is running loose inside the building. The episode's official description states: "With most of NCIS away and the mainframe shut down for a midnight upgrade, Kasie and a skeleton crew are left in a darkened building when someone begins hunting from inside. What starts as a routine reboot becomes a high-stakes game of cat and mouse through powerless hallways until an unexpected ally, Sam Hanna, steps into the fight." Furthermore, the rapper will continue his appearance in episode 18, titled 'Bad Impressions', which will premiere on April 28.
LL Cool J is set to lead his own spin-off series, 'NCIS: New York', this fall, CBS announced last week while unveiling its fall 2026 schedule. He will reprise his role as Sam Hanna alongside Scott Caan's "roguish agent." As per the show's official description, "legendary NCIS Agent Sam Hanna (LL COOL J) returns to his hometown of New York City to their field office, partnering with a roguish agent (Scott Caan) and helping lead a new team as they are tasked with high-stakes missions to defend one of the most vital cities and ports in the world." On April 17, the Grammy winner told Deadline that his appearance on 'NCIS' will tie into his new series, "There’ll be some lines in there that set up New York," but sources have confirmed that his storyline in the original series will not set up the spinoff.
Moreover, Byron Balasco will serve as the showrunner of the upcoming series. The pilot episode is written by R. Scott Gemmill, the creative force behind the award-winning medical drama 'The Pitt.' Gemmill was the writer and showrunner on 'NCIS: Los Angeles,' where LL Cool J originated the role of Hanna. The Los Angeles chapter of the NCIS universe ran for 14 seasons on CBS from 2009 to 2023. He went on to reprise his role in another offshoot series, 'NCIS: Hawai'i', and was also seen in earlier seasons of 'NCIS.' All episodes of 'NCIS' Season 23 premiere at 8 p.m. on CBS and can be streamed later on Paramount+.
