The NCIS franchise started over three decades ago, finding great success as the original and with several spinoffs.
When the writer’s strikes happened in 2023, fans were left without an NCIS fix for the first time in over twenty years.
Meanwhile, a new spinoff, NCIS: Sydney, was happening in another part of the world for the first out-of-country NCIS spinoff in history.
The upcoming NCIS spinoff featuring Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David may also take place out of the US.
Originally, there were no plans for NCIS: Syndey to air on US television. But when the strikes shut down television production, CBS picked it up for the fall lineup.
Fans rejoiced at the news of an order for a second season of NCIS: Sydney, while we mourned the cancellation announcement for sister show NCIS: Hawai’i.
Related: NCIS: Sydney Season 2: Everything We Know So Far!
The OG NCIS is still strong, and we’ll welcome NCIS: Origins to the family soon.
Here’s everything we know about the cast and characters returning to Sydney in NCIS: Sydney Season 2.
Our Dynamic Team Is Coming Back!
NCIS creators seem to have found the perfect recipe, and they’re deploying it with the Australian spinoff as they have with the other spinoffs.
Related: NCIS Overkill: Is CBS Flooding the Market With Its Most Popular Franchise?
Take a strong-headed Agent in charge, and add a few lower agents to partner up for the dirty work.
Stir in one tech genius lab tech, a forensic scientist genius, and a brilliant medical examiner, and you have the formula for a kickass team.
NCIS: Sydney has all that, and the beauty of the coastal island adds extra character. Here’s the lineup for our second season with the Sydney crew.
Michelle Mackey (Olivia Swann)
While NCIS has Parker and Hawai’i has Tennant, Sydney has badass NCIS Special Agent in Charge Michelle Mackey.
Before joining NCIS, Mackey was a Marine Corps pilot. She’s straightforward, by the book, and a very in-your-face patriotic American.
She tends to have a hot head and makes impulsive decisions while holding back her emotions. There are plenty of secrets left for fans to discover.
Actress Olivia Swann portrays Mackey with the same skill and precision as in her previous role as Astra Logue on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Jim ‘JD’ Dempsey (Todd Lasance)
JD is the Australian counterpart to Mackey, a veteran sergeant in the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
As second-in-command on a dual-nationality team, Mackey often clashes with Mackey on how to handle things.
He’s more ideologic, while she’s more blunt and headstrong.
And while Mackey is more impulsive and nomadic, thriving as a tumbleweed on her own, JD has strong roots in his community and a soft spot for those in his close circle.
This Australian native is no stranger to the screen, appearing in Michael B. Jordan’s Without Remorse, Spartacus, The Flash, The Vampire Diaries, and Home and Away.
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DeShawn Jackson (Sean Sagar)
Another member of the American NCIS agency is DeShawn Jackson. Jackson is Mackey’s right hand, loyal and optimistic.
DeShawn shares Mackey’s uptight rigors for being by the book and helping his command leaders.
But his Australian partner and team members are helping him break out of his shell and live a bit more.
In addition to NCIS: Sydney, we’ve seen Sagar in series like Fate: The Winx Saga, Sistas, Buffering, and Our Girl.
On the movie screen, he’s been in Guy Ritchie films like The Covenant and The Gentlemen.
Later this year, he will appear in Mea Culpa, a Tyler Perry film, with Trevante Rhodes and Kelly Rowland.
Evie Cooper (Tuuli Narkle)
Tuuli Narkle plays the Australian partner, Evie Cooper, to DeShawn Jackson. Evie is the Liaison Officer Constable for the Australian Federal Police.
Evie likes to push Jackson’s buttons, contradicting his stoic military persona with a less formal attitude.
Narkle is new to US audiences, but she’s done several works for Australian TV, including Bad Behaviour, Mystery Road: Origin, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Black is the New White, and All My Friends are Racist.
Related: Why Has Gen Z Produced So Few Prominent TV Stars?
Doc Roy (Rosie) Penrose (William McInnes)
Roy, the group’s doctor, is the forensic pathologist who assists NCIS with the cases it investigates alongside the AFP.
Penrose is an ex-Australian Navy Medic who exudes an air of aloofness. But he bonded with the team and started to show us his unique personality through Sydney’s first season.
It was too cute to see him with his little dog, Buster, on NCIS: Sydney, Season 1, Episode 5.
William McInnes, the actor behind the character, is a well-established Aussie actor. Australians know him for his roles in shows like Blue Heelers, Unfinished, and The Newsreader.
Related: 13 Deeply Flawed Characters We Can’t Get Out of Our Heads
Bluebird ‘Blue’ Gleeson (Mavournee Hazel)
Blue is the forensic scientist for the dual-country liaison between NCIS and the Australian Federal Police.
Her shy awkwardness contradicts her quiet brilliance and genius mindset. She often sees connections in the cases they handle that the rest of the team misses.
Her camaraderie with fellow Aussies JD and Evie gives us glimpses of her fun persona when she’s not fumbling in intimidation of Mackey’s larger-than-life aura.
Related: Small Screen Icons: Strong and Impactful Female Characters
Other than NCIS: Sydney, Hazel has also starred in TV roles for Neighbours, headlined its Neighbours: Pipe Up spinoff web series, and appeared in shows Shantaram and Halifax: Retribution.
So, Fanatics, chime in and tell us what you think of the news of NCIS: Sydney coming back for a sophomore season.
Did you enjoy seeing our favorite naval investigative services in a faraway land? Which NCIS are you most excited about watching in the fall?
We’re eager to see the origins story of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, narrated by Mark Harmon and starring Austin Stowell.
Related: NCIS: Origins: Everything We Know So Far About the Leroy Jethro Gibbs Prequel
Sara Trimble is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow her on X.