Cosby Show alum Geoffrey Owens recently made headlines when a photo of him working at Trader Joe's went viral. The sudden buzz surrounding Owens' career has resulted in the actor landing roles on TV shows, including an ongoing gig on Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots. Additionally, Owens nabbed a job that will take him back to broadcast network television in a high-profile franchise. Yes, Geoffrey Owens will appear on NCIS: New Orleans in its upcoming fifth season.
Geoffrey Owens will appear as a guest star in the sixth episode of NCIS: New Orleans Season 5. Although he is currently only slated to appear in this one episode, the description of his character indicates that Owens isn't playing a villain of the week or one of the many Navy officers who float in and out of the series. Although it's much too soon to say for sure, his character may have the potential to return. Here's what we know.
On NCIS: New Orleans, Geoffrey Owens will play an old friend of Pride's by the name of Commander Adams. Still dealing with the emotional fallout of his near-death experience following the shooting in the Season 4 cliffhanger, Pride consults his trusted friend for advice, both medical and spiritual. Pride is experiencing ongoing symptoms of some sort, and Deadline reports that he wants Adams' thoughts on what could be the cause and what he should do next. Could the new Season 5 leader have something to do with Pride's uncertainty?
This casting -- which will almost certainly be one of the least controversial NCIS: New Orleans moves in recent months -- worked out because the show was looking for "someone with compassion, competence, and heart," according to NCIS: NOLA executive producer Christopher SIlber, who went on to say that those words describe Owens "in a nutshell" and they're "lucky to have him on the show." Assuming NCIS: New Orleans doesn't deal Pride yet another tragic twist by killing off his old friend in that friend's very first episode, the door may be open for Commander Adams to turn up yet again.
Interestingly, NCIS: NOLA will take Geoffrey Owens back to CBS for the third time in the last couple of years. Although he hasn't had a regular job on TV for a while, he did appear in episodes of CBS' Blue Bloods and Elementary, in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Elsewhere on network TV in recent years, Owens appeared on episodes of The Blacklist on NBC and Lucifer on Fox.
Given that Geoffrey Owens will appear in 10 episodes of Tyler Perry's OWN drama The Haves and the Have Nots in Season 6, Owens may be busy in the foreseeable future. Still, a gig on any NCIS show is a pretty good thing. Assuming his character doesn't die on NCIS: NOLA, there's always the potential to crossover over to the original NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. At least one NCIS actor is on board with more crossovers!
No exact premiere date for Geoffrey Owens' episode of NCIS: New Orleans has been revealed just yet, but it's slated to debut at some point in late October. NCIS: NOLA will premiere in the fall lineup and pay off on that crazy cliffhanger on Tuesday, September 25 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
