LL Cool J has been cast on “NCIS: Hawaiʻi” Season 3 after a surprise cameo during the Season 2 finale of the CBS procedural Monday night.
Reprising his role as Sam Hanna from “NCIS: Los Angeles,” LL Cool J is slated to join the “NCIS: Hawaiʻi” cast as a recurring guest star in the series’ upcoming third season.
The rapper made his cameo as Sam when he swooped in from Morocco to assist Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) and Kate Whistler (Tori Anderson) as they are under attack in Venezuela during the “NCIS: Hawaiʻi” Season 2 finale.
“All of us at ‘NCIS: Hawaiʻi’ have been huge fans of LL Cool J for years and couldn’t be more thrilled or honored to be adding his spectacular talent to our ohana for Season 3,” executive producers Matt Bosack, Jan Nash and Christopher Silber said in a statement, using the Hawaiian term for family.
The news of LL Cool J’s casting in “NCIS: Hawaiʻi” comes one day after “NCIS: Los Angeles” closed out its 14-season run on the network, which showrunner R. Scott Gemmill’s wrapped up by giving each character as happy an ending as possible.
“One of the most beautiful things about working on ‘NCIS: Hawaiʻi’ is the show’s ability to bring the franchise together,” series star Vanessa Lachey said in a statement. “We have had so much fun spreading the aloha to ‘NCIS’ and ‘NCIS:LA’ with the triple crossover. Now, we have the amazing opportunity to bring Sam Hanna to Hawai’i to help the island solve some cases and maybe have a few laughs in the process. Welcome to the ohana, Todd! It’s going to be a fun ride!”
In addition to Lachey, “NCIS: Hawaiʻi” features Alex Tarrant, Noah Mills, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Jason Antoon and Tori Anderson. The series hails from CBS Studios and is executive produced by Matt Bosack, Jan Nash and Christopher Silber.
