LL Cool J Announces Surprise ‘NCIS’ Return as Sam Hanna

LL Cool J is returning to NCIS!

The rapper and actor, 57, shared via an Instagram post Thursday, March 20, that he will reprise his role as Sam Hanna on an April episode of NCIS season 22.

“Guess who’s back,” read a video message jointly posted by LL Cool J and the NCIS Instagram account. A mysterious figure is then seen wiping the screen to reveal himself as LL Cool J.

“Back on set, baby. NCIS. Let’s get it,” he said in the video.

The video concluded with the air date for LL Cool J’s return episode: April 21.

LL Cool J first played former Navy SEAL Sam on an episode of NCIS season 6 in May 2009. That episode acted as a backdoor pilot for NCIS: Los Angeles, which premiered on CBS that September and ran for 14 seasons through May 2023.

After NCIS: Los Angeles concluded, LL Cool J reprised his role as Sam on NCIS: Hawai’i seasons 2 and 3. The show, also starring Vanessa Lachey, was canceled in April 2024 after three seasons. CBS cited the cost of the show and its ratings as the reasons for the cancelation.

“It is incumbent on us to always keep the schedule fresh, keep momentum going. We had to make some really tough choices this year,” CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said in May 2024, per Variety. “Everything came back [from the Hollywood strikes] really strong, but ultimately we have to look at the cohesiveness of the schedule flow. We have to evaluate the financials and the performance overall, and we make tough decisions.”

Lachey shared her reaction via her Instagram Story at the time. “Gutted, confused, blindsided,” she wrote over the NCIS: Hawai’i logo. “Grateful, confident, beloved fans!”

“Processing this news and still being present with my family. I Love You all! Mahalo Nui Loa,” she added.

A couple of days later, Lachey said she was having a hard time explaining the cancelation to her daughter, Brooklyn, 10. (Lachey also shares sons Camden, 12, and Phoenix, 8, with husband Nick Lachey.)

“Trying to explain this news to my daughter … and she makes me Mickey ears so I can ‘smile,’” Lachey shared in an Instagram Story post. “This decision was bigger than a TV show.”