NCIS: New Orleans is reaching into the Star Trek franchise for a guest star in an upcoming episode. LeVar Burton, best known as Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation, has landed a role that will take him to the Big Easy in 2019. Here's what we know about the Star Trek vet's character so far.
LeVar Burton is on board to play Rufus Nero. Rufus is a Naval intelligence agent who works with Pride's team after a deadly virus is stolen. Cooperation between Rufus and the agents is imperative, given that this is a rare virus that could do a lot of damage if not recovered as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Rufus will have an uphill battle to win over the characters that viewers have come to know and love.
As it happens, Rufus "absolutely infuriates" Wade when they first meet in LeVar Burton's episode, according to TVLine. Loretta Wade is a longtime and key part of the NCIS team on New Orleans, so we can bet that loyalties will be with her when it comes to feelings regarding the newcomer. Still, any hatchets will likely need to be buried in the face of a potential crisis with the virus unaccounted for.
At this point, LeVar Burton is only listed as a guest star for NCIS: New Orleans, so viewers shouldn't count on seeing him return to the show with absolute certainty. After all, a guest shot on any of the NCIS series can pretty easily end in death and/or imprisonment. Still, it would be somewhat surprising to see NCIS: NOLA bring in such a recognizable face as LeVar Burton (who is also known and loved for Reading Rainbow) just to kill him off.
If Rufus lives to tell the tale of his hunt for the virus with Pride and Co., perhaps the door will be open for LeVar Burton to reprise his role. Star Trek: The Next Generation fans would undoubtedly be happy to see him back on the small screen on a regular, and he would be able to perform without any kind of tech covering his eyes. We'll have to wait and see.
The episode featuring LeVar Burton will air in early February, but no official airdate has revealed at this point. The bad news for fans of the show is that they're nearly out of new episodes for 2018. The midseason finale of NCIS: New Orleans Season 5 will air on December 11, 2018 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. That episode will see Pride kidnapped and forced to tackle a series of tasks if he wants to save the lives of people he loves.
Be sure to tune in! It's entirely possible that the midseason finale will end on a cliffhanger, as the Season 4 finale proved that NCIS: NOLA knows how to create a cliffhanger. If you need some viewing options once NCIS: NOLA and other fall shows get into their winter hiatuses, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule.
