‘NCIS: Hawaii’ Slated to Have Franchise’s First Female Lead — Here’s Why She Should Have Hawaiian Roots
NCIS is a popular franchise that has certainly been willing to experiment with its tried-and-true format in order to come up with new spinoff ideas. The crime drama does a great job of keeping things close enough to reality for fans to really feel invested in the plot lines, but they also know how to sprinkle in enough embellishment to make the interpersonal dynamics between the characters a key component as well.
Now, the crime drama is going to break new ground by bringing on its first female lead. This move is going to be part of the newest series in the NCIS franchise — NCIS: Hawaii. While the franchise has been around for almost two decades and taken on numerous iterations across different series, it has never had a female lead.
Now that the glass ceiling is being broken, fans are calling on the creators to make sure they fill the role with a character who has Hawaiian roots.
The original ‘NCIS’ premiered in 2003
There’s no shortage of crime dramas available on primetime TV, but there’s also clearly no shortage of fans’ demand for more. The genre has deep roots in television history, and fans can trace a line from older shows like Dragnet through the Law & Order franchise and into more cerebral takes like True Detective.
In some ways, having this long tradition of successful series provides a welcome boost to newcomers to the genre, but at the same time, it creates a set of expectations that can be hard to meet. Viewers want their crime dramas to provide enough familiarity to feel satisfying while also providing enough novelty and innovation to keep from being boring. It’s a fine line to walk.
When NCIS premiered in 2003, it was up to fans to decide if the creators had managed to bring a fresh voice to the crime procedural. Focusing on the work of the Major Case Response Team of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the series did seem to bring a slightly new perspective to a classic approach.
Like many other series in the genre, the show’s success largely depends on the interplay of an ensemble cast and making sure there are enough personality clashes and matches is key.
The ‘NCIS’ franchise has featured many male leads
There have since been many versions of the NCIS format throughout its spinoffs. The locations and characters change, but one thing has remained consistent: the head of the department featured has always been a man.
For the original NCIS, fans get to watch Mark Harmon portray Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. In NCIS: Los Angeles, it’s LL Cool J as Sam Hanna and Chris O’Donnell as G. Callen running the show. NCIS: New Orleans has recently been canceled, but it was headed up by Scott Bakula’s Dwayne Cassius Pride.
A female lead for ‘NCIS: Hawaii’ is on the horizon
Fans are getting excited for the upcoming NCIS: Hawaii spinoff. After months of speculation, the series is officially confirmed, and now fans are anxious to see more details as they unfold. One of those details was big news: the head of the Hawaii NCIS team will be a woman.
As fans wonder who will land the coveted role, some are hoping the creators will cast a Hawaiian actor in the part. As TV Insider reports, there are plenty of potential stars that would fit the role. Maggie Q, who showed off her tough skills in Nikita, would be a great option. Kelly Hu was formerly Miss Hawaii USA in 1993 and wowed fans in Arrow. The casting directors could even think outside the box and consider Pussycat Doll singer Nicole Scherzinger for the part — after all, LL Cool J also made the leap from music to acting.
The lead will likely be announced soon, and fans will be keeping a close eye on who gets picked.
