LL Cool J Returns to ‘NCIS’ Franchise in ‘New York,’ Weatherly & Harmon in ‘NCIS’ & ‘Origins,’ Dancing to Mariah Carey

NCIS: New York

Go East, big man. That’s the deal as Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) relocates from his many years on NCIS: Los Angeles to the newest spinoff in the NCIS universe, based in Sam’s and the rapper/actor’s hometown of New York. The special agent in charge, Robyn Wells (Jennifer Beals), welcomes him to the team when he asks to help solve the murder of a close family friend. He’s partnered with the cocky Nick Schaeffer (Hawaii Five-0‘s Scott Caan), who can’t ignore the disparity in their respective physiques. “I kind of like having a big friend,” Nick quips as they bounce from Brooklyn to the Diamond District to Red Hook to Soho, encountering plenty of shoot-em-up carnage along the way. Though Robyn notes that Sam “likes being out in the wild” and isn’t inclined to be assigned to an office, we figure he’s here for the long haul. His new colleagues include earnest boy scout Wyatt Sellers (Shane Harper), unflappable Addy Ross (Jacqueline Byers), and the requisite hacker Sean Sullivan (Devin Druid), whose cloudy past keeps him chained to his desk.

NCIS

Seems like old times, when original cast member Michael Weatherly returns to D.C. to reunite with team members old and new for the 24th season of the ever-popular franchise leader. He’s no longer with NCIS, but as he sets up a satellite office of the private security firm familiar to viewers of the short-lived spinoff Tony & Ziva, he’ll be invaluable to the team as they handle new threats. (Whether Cote de Pablo‘s Ziva will make any appearances remains to be seen.) The season opener picks up with the fallout from the shooting involving McGee’s (Sean Murray) teenage son Mateo (Patrick Keleher), bringing in Tony when they discover a threat to the Secretary of the Navy.

NCIS: Origins

In the first two seasons of the 1990s-set NCIS prequel, Mark Harmon was mostly heard and not seen as the present-day Leroy Jethro Gibbs, narrating each episode as he reflected on his past from his peaceful retirement in Alaska. That peace is shattered in the Season 3 opener, which explains why Harmon will be seen on camera throughout the season, providing a framework for a season-long storyline that sheds new light on the younger Gibbs’ (Austin Stowell) coming of age at Camp Pendleton and his relationship with teammate Lala (Mariel Molino). In the opener, their torrid clinch is interrupted by news that Randy (Caleb Foote) has been kidnapped, presumably over the top-secret intel he was digitizing into the newly rebranded NCIS office’s computers. Needless to say, it doesn’t go without notice that Gibbs’ shirt is missing a few buttons.

Dancing With the Stars

Mariah Carey’s catalog of hits provides the music for this week’s showdown among the 12 remaining couples, with partners dancing routines in styles including waltz, samba, tango, rumba, foxtrot, jazz, and Viennese waltz. The song list includes many of Carey’s #1 hits, including “Hero,” “Fantasy,” “Touch My Body,” “My All,” “Emotions,” and “Vision of Love.” And who gets to dance to “Obsessed”? Guillermo Rodriguez, obviously.

Tommy & Tuppence

Aunt Ada, we hardly knew you. The retired private detective, played puckishly by Imelda Staunton, continues to narrate from beyond the grave as the contemporary adaptation of the fun-loving detective duo (Josh Dylan and Antonia Thomas) ends its freshman season with the first of a two-part mystery inspired by Agatha Christie‘s 1968 novel By the Pricking of My Thumbs. Ada’s passing in her sleep at her retirement home seems natural enough — until her mysterious friend Jane Lancaster (Alice Krige) is suddenly spirited away from the facility, leaving behind a painting of a house that may be connected to the disappearance of several children several decades earlier. Tommy and Tuppence go investigating in a village with many dark secrets in a twisted case that temporarily distracts them from the uncertain state of their working and personal relationship.

INSIDE TUESDAY TV:

• Best Medicine (8/7c, Fox): When Doc Martin (Josh Charles) demands the townspeople get check-ups before participating in the town’s floating crate race, he’s puzzled when several men test positive for pregnancy. Only in Port Wenn.
• The Voice (8/7c, NBC): It’s a wrap for the Blind Auditions, with the Battle Rounds beginning next week.
• Vampirina: Teenage Vampire (8/7c, Disney Channel): The music-loving tween vampire (Kenzi Richardson) returns for a second season.
• The Drop: A Snowfall Saga (9/8c, FX, streaming on Hulu): Denée Benton (The Gilded Age) guest-stars in a revealing flashback as Rochelle, the musically gifted mother of James (Peyton Alex Smith) and music prodigy Lamar (Asante Blackk), the latter having been kept in the dark — until now — about the circumstances of Rochelle’s tragic death on a fateful Thanksgiving in 1974.
• American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez (9/8c, PBS): American Masters profiles Luis Valdez, the celebrated playwright (Zoot Suit) and director (La Bamba).
• Doc (9/8c, Fox): Amy (Molly Parker) tackles a strange case with Jake (Jon-Michael Ecker) that forces them to re-examine their off-and-on (though currently off) relationship.
• Dark Side of the Cage (9/8c, Vice TV): The docuseries explores the feud between the UFC and the T-shirt brand Affliction.

ON THE STREAM:

• Reasonable Doubt (streaming on Hulu): The fourth season of the steamy legal drama opens with Jax (Emayatzy Corinealdi) in the hospital, fighting for her life after being shot in the Season 3 finale. Can she and her new law firm survive?
• Thou Shalt Not Steal (streaming on The Network): An Australian comedy follows two teenagers (Sherry-Lee Watson and Will McDonald) as they flee across the desert in a stolen taxi, pursued by cops, a vengeful madam (Miranda Otto), and a huckster preacher (Noah Taylor).
• Bass X Machina (streaming on Netflix): Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) stars and executive produces an animated Steampunk Western fantasy about legendary bounty hunter Bass Reeves, taking on giant robots and other supernatural threats.
• Mojo Brookzz: I Know You Lying (streaming on Netflix): The Chicago-based comedian rocks the house in a stand-up special.
• All American (streaming on Netflix): The final season of the CW football drama is now available on the streaming giant.
• Reykjavik 112 (streaming on MHz Choice): An Icelandic mystery finds a rookie detective trying to find a woman’s killer before he murders the victim’s 6-year-old daughter, the sole witness.