While NCIS started out as a spinoff of JAG, the series has unquestionably become an even bigger deal than its predecessor not only because it’s been running for over two decades, but because it spawned a procedural franchise, too. Six shows encompass the money-making NCIS-verse (not counting crossovers with non-NCIS shows), with the streaming-exclusive NCIS: Tony & Ziva also on the way, but the franchise wouldn’t have gotten as far as it has if NCIS: Los Angeles, the first of these spinoffs, not been successful. Amusingly enough, creator Shane Brennan explained how he came with the idea for Los Angeles completely off the cuff while he was pitching another show.
He told this story while chatting with Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo, the stars of the aforementioned NCIS: Tony & Ziva, on their podcast Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch. Brennan, who was a writer and executive producer on NCIS from 2007 to 2015, recalled how one day, he was with CBS Studios president David Stapf, and they were going to discuss an idea of Brennan’s that had nothing to do with NCIS whatsoever to Nina Tassler, the then-chairwoman of CBS Entertainment. While they were waiting to meet with Tassler, Brennan noticed an episode of NCIS playing on a nearby TV, which brings us to the first chunk of his story:
And I'm standing there and I sort of watched this episode, and I glanced across at David and said, ‘You know, that's one of the best episodes we made last season.’ David glanced up and looked at the screen, then he looked at me and said, ‘Think we could do a sequel?’ And I said, Yeah, I’ve got a spinoff.’ And he said, ‘What?’ And he dropped, he literally dropped his back. He's like, ‘What? You've got a spinoff?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And he said, ‘Well, tell me about it.’ I said, ‘Well, no.’ He said, ‘Tell Nina. We’ll go in together and just just tell Nina and I'll listen and I'll keep nodding.’ I said, ‘No, David, you know, I'm here to pitch this other show. I can't pitch the spinoff, it's not in the head, it’s not fair. And he said, ‘Oh, ok, ok.’
So right then and there, Shane Brennan made it clear that even though he had an NCIS spinoff idea cooking, he didn’t feel comfortable talking about it since they were there to pitch this other show that Brennan didn’t identify. David Stapf, however, had other plans in mind, as Brennan laid out:
He sat there for a minute. He said, ‘Ah, I've got to go and see someone.’ So he gets up, goes in, obviously goes to see Nina, comes back out. We go in. I'm taking him to see Nina. Nina sits there and I pitched this other show I've got and she nods and smiles and she, ’It's wonderful. It's fantastic. And we get to the end of the pitch, and she says, ‘Well, David tells me you've got a spinoff of NCIS. And I said, ‘Yeah, I have.’ She said, ‘Could you tell me?’ I said, ‘Well, I can, but I don't think it's fair. I need to get it into the head again. I've come in and prepared for this pitch.’
So David Stapf went behind Shane Brennan’s back to let Nina Tassler know that Brennan had an idea for an NCIS spinoff. This likely happened sometime in the latter half of 2008 given that it was announced that November that Los Angeles’ two-part backdoor pilot would air during NCIS Season 6. When Cote de Pablo asked Brennan if he’d actually thought of a spinoff idea by that point or if he was just making this up as he was going along, he answered:
Hence the smirk. I didn't have a spinoff. I had nothing. I had that much [makes O symbol with his fingers]. I had 0% of 0. So Nina said, well just tell me what it's about. And I looked at her and and a word popped out of my head: undercover. She said, ‘I love undercover.’ And she said, ‘I want to hear it tomorrow. I said, ‘Ok, 3:00 tomorrow.’ I went home. I sat down, looked at my computer and wrote. And that night I wrote the pitch.
That mention of “undercover” ignited the spark that would become NCIS: Los Angeles, and the rest, as they say, is history. The two-part “Legend” introduced the world to characters like Chris O’Donnell’s G. Callen, LL Cool J’s Sam Hanna and Daniela Ruah’s Kensi Blye in late April and early May of 2009, and the following September, Los Angeles premiered on CBS. The spinoff came to an end in May 2023 after 14 seasons, although following its conclusion, LL Cool J reprised Sam in NCIS: Hawai’i, and Ruah briefly reprised Kensi in the NCIS franchise’s 1,000th episode.
It’s a good thing Shane Brennan decided to play along rather than wait until he had a fully-formed NCIS spinoff idea, otherwise it might have been a lot longer until the franchise got off the ground, if at all. Revisit the entirety of NCIS: Los Angeles with your Paramount+ subscription.
