NCIS: Sydney comprises unique qualities that warrant more attention before season 2. The series introduced the cast of NCIS: Sydney in season 1 in 2023, filling a void in CBS’s lineup when its original programming didn’t return due to the Hollywood strikes. NCIS: Sydney introduced Olivia Swann as the Team Lead of the Australian Federal Police (AFP)/Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Sydney Task Force, which was quickly established as things began to pick up speed down under. The team is a diverse blend of American and Australian officers responsible for managing rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Sydney-based series is the fourth spinoff in the NCIS franchise, but it’s now its oldest in-production spinoff after just one season. Now that CBS has canceled NCIS: Hawai’i, NCIS: Sydney remains with two expansion series currently in pre-production: NCIS: Origins and Tony & Ziva. The Aussie-centric series had a successful season 1, scoring renewal for NCIS: Sydney season 2 in the 2024-2025 TV season. While some fans have been cautious about accepting the show, especially after the cancelation of others, NCIS: Sydney has strengths worth considering.

8

NCIS: Sydney Has A Female Lead

NCIS Sydney Features Team Lead Of The AFP/NCIS Sydney Task Force Michelle Mackey

The importance of a female lead in the NCIS franchise is heightened in the coming TV cycle. The first female lead for the NCIS series was Vanessa Lachey’s Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant (although NCIS‘s first female lead almost happened eight years earlier). However, the NCIS franchise disappointed many fans by canceling her spinoff NCIS: Hawai’i ahead of season 4. It would be great to see CBS reverse the cancelation and return Jane Tennant to her post, but if they don’t do that, it makes Olivia Swann’s Michelle Mackey all the more vital.

Mackey established leadership of the AFP/NCIS Sydney Task Force in NCIS: Sydney season 1. Her demeanor was closed off in the first season, making her character hard to relate to for some viewers. NCIS Special Agent Mackey’s backstory was mostly kept secret in season 1. Revealing more about Mackey would be a sure way to help audiences identify with her character. While Mackey can seem closed off and rude, she emulates the original NCIS team leader, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, in that way. As with Gibbs, Mackey’s layers will undoubtedly be peeled back as the series progresses.

7

NCIS: Sydney Is The Franchise’s Only Remaining Location-Based Spinoff

NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, And NCIS: Hawai’i Have Been Canceled

This spinoff warrants more attention because NCIS: Sydney is the franchise’s only remaining location-based spinoff. With the franchise’s current trajectory, it could be the last location-based spinoff that NCIS births for a long time. The franchise has been changing, canceling shows like NCIS: Los Angeles in 2021, New Orleans in 2022, and Hawai’i in 2024. The way is paved for spinoffs like NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Tony & Ziva to take form. They will break a 15-year NCIS spinoff tradition, focusing on core MCRT agents from the original NCIS series instead of NCIS groups in other locations.

In many ways, NCIS: Sydney departed from some NCIS franchise traditions but upheld one of its oldest. It’s the last NCIS office that opened (so far) to focus on NCIS agents in other parts of the world. That’s a special thing for the franchise, which has seen a drastic decline in its satellite offices in recent years and is worth holding onto. While some think that NCIS: Sydney was favored over NCIS: Hawai’i season 4, it’s likely that the island-themed spinoff was canceled to make way for one of the original NCIS character-focused spinoffs, which are just starting production.

6

NCIS: Sydney Characters Emulate The Original Cast Of NCIS

Mackey, JD, DeShawn, Evie, Blue, And Roy Comprise The NCIS: Sydney Cast

While some have different accents, the cast of NCIS: Sydney emulates the original MCRT from the flagship NCIS series. And in some ways, they’re better. Team Leader of the AFP/NCIS Sydney Task Force, Michelle Mackay, shares qualities with Mark Harmon’s portrayal of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. She is processing difficult experiences from her military background that often cause her to act closed off and guarded. That said, like Gibbs, she is a strong leader for her team. JD also shares qualities with Gibbs, trusting his instinct and honoring his responsibility to protect others over the badge.

Blue and the doc also have a relationship that mirrors the bond between Dr. Mallard (David McCallum) and Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) in the main series. They work closely, supporting one another, as they often must stay behind. Likewise, parts of the relationship budding between DeShawn Jackson and Evie Cooper are reminiscent of Special Agents Kate Todd and Tony DiNozzo. However, Jackson is more gracious to those around him than Tony. There is a newness to their roles and each other, which is evocative of Kate and DiNozzo in NCIS.

5

Bluebird “Blue” Gleason Is One Of The Best NCIS Characters

Mavournee Hazel’s Character Was Neurotic And Charming

Despite her self-doubt, Mavournee Hazel’s Bluebird “Blue” Gleason was a charismatic character in NCIS: Sydney season 1. The character fills in as the team’s forensic scientist when the season starts. Throughout season 1, she forms bonds with the characters, which ultimately have to be cut short when her temporary position ends. However, the NCIS franchise employed an established method for incorporating characters into the franchise, where they made Hazel’s character a mainstay on the show after gradually introducing her. By the end of the series, Blue had been promoted to a full-time position in the team.

Blue’s character has experiences with anxiety. Seeing her character not always have the perfect thing to say is refreshing. Instead, Hazel’s character is an honest reflection of the self-doubt and fear in the world today. While Blue is often nervous, she can rise above and help her team on multiple occasions. She goes above and beyond, taking the doctor to see his wife at the nursing home and waiting for him in the car. Blue’s character will continue to be vital moving forward if the writers resist boxing her into stereotypes and her anxious personality.

4

The Romance Between Constable Cooper And Agent Jackson

Tuuli Narkle And Sean Sager Are Evie Cooper And DeShawn Jackson

The slow burn between Constable Evie Cooper and Special Agent DeShawn Jackson has the same promise of great love stories, such as Tony & Ziva’s NCIS romance. While it was sometimes difficult to decipher if Evie and DeShawn were forming a close friendship or something more, there was a telling moment at the end of episode 7, “Bunker Down.” Evie is trapped in a bunker and believes her death is imminent. She decides to leave a voice message for DeShawn, of all people. The gesture signaled growing feelings between the agents despite neither acting on it.

The agents have believable chemistry, which is refreshing to see within the franchise. What’s more, the relationship will likely take off rather than slow-burn. Evie Cooper is a liaison officer to the AFP/NCIS Sydney Task Force. That means that though she works with DeShawn, their work still has separations. It was a model that worked for NCIS: Los Angeles’ Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks (Daniela Ruah and Eric Christian Olsen). Deeks was an LAPD-NCIS Liaison Officer, so it’s possible that the franchise could employ the same model for an in-office romance in Sydney.

3

NCIS: Sydney Has A Serialized Narrative

It Was The First NCIS Series To Utilize Serialized Storytelling

One of the more groundbreaking qualities that sets the series apart is that NCIS: Sydney focuses on serialized storytelling rather than the episodic case-of-the-week format that NCIS is known for. While there were some unconnected cases in season 1, the series focused on a streamlined threat that carried a larger plot arc throughout. The mysterious “Ana Niemus” was a recurring antagonist throughout season 1, locking Mackey, Evie, and Blue in a sealed bunker in episode 7. She has a mysterious connection to Colonel Rankin (Lewis Fitz-Gerald) that will undoubtedly carry over to NCIS: Sydney season 2.

The lack of laborious exposition makes for a different environment for the NCIS: Sydney team, and it’s refreshing to add depth to the story in this way. The franchise has stayed relevant due to its skillful rotation of characters as cast members leave the shows. Yet, without a more serialized story, the audience is still somewhat removed from being able to go deeper with the characters. While the Australian-based spinoff was the first series to employ serialized storytelling tactic within the franchise, NCIS: Tony & Ziva will follow the trend in their upcoming limited series.

2

NCIS: Sydney Set The Course For The NCIS Franchise’s International Expansion

The NCIS Franchise Has Introduced New International Facets Since NCIS: Sydney Was Launched

What’s more, NCIS: Sydney expanded the NCIS franchise to international territories. While many NCIS spinoffs have focused on teams in other locations, Sydney was the first series that expanded the franchise outside the United States. While it was exciting to see agents in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Hawai’i, respectively, NCIS: Sydney expanded NCIS viewership to the other side of the world. Sydney was available to stream in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The series is set and filmed in Australia, making its epic cinematography thrilling. The characters visit essential locations throughout the city woven into the show’s narrative.

NCIS: Sydney started another trend for the franchise with its international setting. While it isn’t the entire basis of the show, as with Sydney, NCIS: Tony & Ziva will also take viewers internationally. It’s been revealed that the primary filming location for the NCIS: Tony & Ziva spinoff will be in Budapest. The NCIS main series also expanded its vantage point to include more international locations in season 21, referencing a Far East Office that would eventually facilitate the introduction of Special Agent Jessica Knight’s father, the Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Far East Office.

1

NCIS: Sydney Is Relevant To American Foreign Policy Right Now

The United States Is Building Ties With Australia

One of the touchstones of the NCIS franchise is that it represents actual threats and partnerships relevant to the American military. NCIS: Sydney is no exception, with the characters representing a prominent aspect of foreign affairs. The franchise has explored military hubs in the Navy Yard and off the coast of Hawai’i, and now it will focus on a realistic aspect of international foreign policy. NCIS: Sydney‘s origin isn’t at random: the country is one of the American military’s greatest allies in potential upcoming foreign affairs.

NCIS‘s presence in Sydney explores the growing partnership between the United States and Australia. Last year, the country announced it would end a purchase agreement with France to source submarines produced by the United States and the United Kingdom [via The White House]. The decision indicates that the country wants to build ties with the Western countries. Moreover, the United States and Australia have signed several treaties to build alliances. Hence, the AFP/NCIS Sydney Task Force is no stretch of the imagination ( U.S. Department of Defense).

Sources: The White House, U.S. Department of Defense