Agent Sam Hanna will be back. According to Deadline, LL Cool J (Grudge Match, The Deal), also known as James Todd Smith, will return to the NCIS franchise after the end of NCIS: Los Angeles. It was revealed during yesterday’s season two finale of NCIS: Hawai’i when Cool J’s character Sam Hanna appeared and helped the agents from the NCIS office branch of Hawai’i. Sam Hanna is set to appear in a recurring role throughout season three of NCIS: Hawai’i and help the agents solve cases.

According to Deadline, in the season finale titled “Dies Irae,” Agent Jane Tennant, played by Vanessa Lachey (Dads, Call Me Kat), and Agent Kate Whistler, played by Tori Anderson (Blindspot, The Secret Sauce), are attacked during a case that had taken them to Venezuela. The agents are under fire when they receive assistance from Sam, who had traveled from Morocco where he had been with Callen. 

NCIS: Hawai’i is a spinoff of the original show NCIS. In this new series, we see the team of special agents led by Agent Jane Tennant, played by Lachey, as they investigate crimes against US military members in Hawai’i. Other cast members include Alex Tarrant (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Vegas) playing Agent Kai Holman; Noah Mills (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, The Brave) playing Agent Jesse Boone; Yasmine Al-Bustami (The Chosen, Send It!) playing Agent Lucy Tara; Jason Antoon (Claws, Noelle) playing Agent Ernie Malik; Anderson playing Kate Whistler; and Kian Talan (Cicada, The Good Doctor) playing Alex Tennant. 

NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i recently came together alongside NCIS: Los Angeles in the first crossover involving all series from the franchise. This new crossover centered around a high-stakes case that turned personal when a FLETC professor, who taught multiple members of the different squads, was found dead of an apparent suicide on the eve of a celebration in his name in Washington, D.C. The teams had to work together to find out what happened since the former students suspected foul play. With the ongoing investigation, the special agents discovered a mysterious hitman and the more they investigated him, the bigger the danger to themselves became. When members of the teams started getting kidnapped, the agents had to come together to take down the killer and save their colleagues and friends. 

Season three of NCIS: Hawai’i is still in preproduction and production will likely be delayed due to the WGA strike. All previous seasons of the show are available to stream on Paramount+. All seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS are also available on Paramount+.