The NCIS franchise is giving fans all kinds of returns when the various dramas hit the 2026 TV schedule this fall, with Michael Weatherly back on the flagship, LL Cool J’s Sam Hanna heading up the coast for NCIS: New York, and Mark Harmon returning to a full season of on-screen appearances in NCIS: Origins. Someone who knows more than anyone about both returns and jumping from one show to the next? Director Dennis Smith.
Starting with JAG (which he helmed seven installments of), Smith went on to direct 63 eps of NCIS proper, 37 eps of NCIS: Los Angeles, and two each for NOLA and Tony & Ziva spinoffs. (Outside of plenty of other series.) It’s been a while since he got behind the camera for the mothership series, but he stopped by the podcast Partners & Probies to talk to stars Brian Dietzen and Diana Reasonover about his prolific career, and offered a bit of hope for an eventual return. (More on that shortly.)
