CBS Executive Explains the Decision Behind Choosing ‘NCIS: New York’ Over ‘Tony & Ziva’ for the Upcoming Season
CBS today unveiled its fall 2026 schedule, featuring the announcement of a new spinoff in the popular NCIS franchise, titled NCIS: New York. Headlined by LL Cool J, who will reprise his role as NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, the series will air on Tuesdays alongside the original series NCIS and the prequel NCIS: Origins.
The new series, created by R. Scott Gemmill and Byron Balasco, comes as a surprise, particularly since CBS already has another NCIS spinoff, NCIS: Sydney, which premiered in the previous season. Sydney has been renewed for the 2026-27 season and is set to return midseason, replacing Origins, which will have a reduced episode order for its third season.
This new development has led to questions about the network’s decision to produce another NCIS series. Some fans are left wondering why CBS opted for NCIS: New York instead of reviving Tony & Ziva, a show that was canceled in December after just a single season on Paramount+. Like New York, Tony & Ziva also featured beloved characters Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) from the NCIS universe. All NCIS series are produced by CBS Studios.
“LL is like a member of our family at CBS; he’s done pop-ins on NCIS the last two years since LA ended, and it’s been really successful,” said CBS executive Kelly Kahl. “The opportunity for Sam Hanna, who is originally from New York but lived in LA for NCIS: LA, to send him back home felt like a really ripe creative space to play in. Plus, there is a huge port and Navy presence in New York — I cannot wait for the premiere party on the Intrepid. We always want to look for what makes an expansion unique and special, and we thought there was just so much opportunity with this.”
When asked about the previous show featuring Tony and Ziva, Kahl stated, “We really wanted to bring the Sam Hanna character back.”
NCIS: Tony & Ziva followed the storyline of Ziva’s supposed death and Tony leaving the NCIS team to raise their daughter. Years later, with Ziva being discovered alive, the show led to her final mission with NCIS before she reunited with Tony and their daughter in Paris.
