LL Cool J is returning to the flagship series NCIS for a two-episode arc starting April 21, 2026, reprising his long-standing role as Sam Hanna. His appearance, which sees him aiding the team during a high-stakes blackout and a murder conspiracy, serves as a lead-in to the newly announced spinoff NCIS: New York premiering in Fall 2026

NCIS: LL COOL J Returns As Sam Hanna Next Week — Watch Promo

A veteran of the “NCIS” universe is returning to give the team a boost.

LL COOL J, who played Sam Hanna on “NCIS: Los Angeles,” made a surprise appearance in a promo for next week’s “NCIS” that aired after Tuesday’s episode. Next week’s installment, titled “Reboot” and airing April 21 at 8 p.m. on CBS, looks like a real nail-biter, too, judging by the promo (which you can watch above).

In the promo, the lights go out inside the NCIS building one night, leading Jimmy to observe, “That can’t be good.” He’s quickly proven right, too, when Parker discovers a dead body and declares, “We’ve got a killer.” But they get an even bigger surprise when Parker and Jimmy stumble upon… Sam Hanna sitting in a side office. “Guess I should’ve called, huh?” he asks. (C’mon, Sam, you’re family, and family never needs to call ahead.) He snaps into action right away, too, helping the NCIS team track down the killer.

Sam Hanna’s NCIS days date back almost 20 years

“NCIS” fans first got to know LL COOL J’s Sam Hanna — a former Navy SEAL working as an undercover special agent — on the spin-off “NCIS: Los Angeles,” where he was partnered up with Chris O’Donnell’s G. Callen on an elite L.A. task force. (Sam and Callen actually debuted in a two-part backdoor pilot that aired near the end of “NCIS” Season 6.) “NCIS: Los Angeles” premiered in 2009 and enjoyed a healthy 14-season run on CBS, wrapping up for good in 2023.

Sam Hanna returned, though, as a special guest star on the CBS spin-off “NCIS: Hawai’i,” with LL COOL J appearing in a dozen episodes as Sam in Seasons 2 and 3. He’s also returned to the “NCIS” mothership, most recently in the Season 22 episode “After the Storm,” when a suspect in a triple murder refused to speak to anyone but Sam.

We’re happy to see Sam again, of course, even if it’s just for one episode. But we can’t help but think there’s an opening for a new NCIS Director, with the untimely death of Rocky Carroll’s Leon Vance.