For over 20 years, NCIS has been a staple on CBS, and it’s grown into a massive franchise that is going strong to this day on the 2026 TV schedule. NCIS: Los Angeles was the first spinoff and longest-running spinoff, ending with 14 seasons in 2023. However, Daniela Ruah believed that the fan-favorite series wouldn’t even get off the ground.
Ruah appeared on the podcast NCIS: Partners & Probies, hosted by NCIS stars Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover, where she talked about her experience on NCIS: LA and the overall franchise. The actress, who portrayed Special Agent Kensi Blye, recalled auditioning for LA and how she had some doubts about the show’s potential because of CBS’ lineup:
When I got the audition for it… all the CSIs were still on the air, Criminal Minds was still on the air, [NCIS was] on the air, and I was like, ‘There is no way CBS is gonna pick up another procedural. Like, where would they even put it?’ What did I know? I’m a 24-year-old idiot at that point.
CBS always seems to have quite a lot of procedurals on its lineup, so it’s understandable why Ruah wasn’t sure if the network would want to pick up another one, especially a spinoff to an already-successful procedural. It’s a good thing she was wrong and that she eventually decided to go to the audition. Because not only did she think CBS wouldn’t order it, Ruah also almost didn’t go to the audition until her agent pushed her to:
And I almost didn’t go to the audition. And I almost didn’t go because maybe I had a few that week, and I was like, ‘Where am I going to invest my time in learning the lines and creating that character just for those 20 minutes in the audition room?' And I almost, almost didn’t go, and my agent was like, ‘You should go. You have nothing to lose.’ And I was like, ‘Alright.’ And so I did, and it was awful.
She went on to explain how her audition went and how she was in New York for the audition, and it was in a “very, very small room.” The audition ended up being an action sequence, one from the two-part backdoor pilot, “Legend,” during Season 6 of NCIS. She never held a gun, and at the time, they had wrist mics, so Ruah had to talk into it while moving around a tiny room, saying dialogue and using her hands as a gun. As if that wasn’t enough, she also recalled how she had a long monologue that she was nervous about as a first-timer for pilot season, and she kept messing up.
Luckily, the rest is history. Ruah got the callback, she got cast as Kensi, and NCIS: Los Angeles managed to go for 14 seasons, over 300 episodes. Ruah also met the love of her life on set, David Olsen, the older brother and stunt double of her on-screen love interest Eric Christian Olsen. So again, it’s a very good thing she was wrong about CBS not picking up the show.
While NCIS: LA ended almost three years ago, Ruah still remains a big part of the franchise. She previously appeared in the 1,000th episode in 2024 and has directed some episodes of NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i. With her former co-star, LL Cool J, making a permanent return with NCIS: New York, who knows what this could mean for Kensi? Unfortunately, NCIS: LA is not streaming with a Paramount+ subscription, but the rest of the franchise is available on the streamer.
