‘NCIS: Hawaii’: Get to Know Jane Tennant’s Team (PHOTOS)
Fall Preview
NCIS: Hawai’i features the first female lead in the franchise: Vanessa Lachey’s Jane Tennant, the first female boss at the Pearl Harbor office.
In her position, she’s in charge of 40 agents, but she’ll still be going out into the field. Jane “doesn’t bark orders and sit at her desk,” Lachey says. “She gets her hands dirty.” And she has a few key agents you’ll want to pay attention to when the drama premieres on September 20 (following the return of NCIS, on a new night) — especially if you like your law enforcement mixed with a little romance.
“We might find some romantic entanglements” among the team, executive producer Christopher Silber teases.
Meet the key players who work for Jane below.
NCIS: Hawai’i, Series Premiere, Monday, September 20, 10/9c, CBS
The Local: Kai Holman (Alex Tarrant)
Island native Kai (yes, he surfs!) left at 18 to join the Marines. He recently returned to care for his father, Wally (Moses Goods), who is sick. Expect more on the pair’s relationship, as well as what drove the team newbie away in the first place.
The Right-Hand Man: Jesse Boone (Noah Mills)
A former Washington, D.C., cop with a background in urban crimes, solid Jesse has put in the most time on the team. “He’s the person Tennant relies on,” says Nash. He’s also a husband and father of three.
The Overachiever: Lucy Tara (Yasmine Al-Bustami)
The bar is self-set high for the team’s enthusiastic youngest member. The Texas native can make “surprising choices when she’s trying to figure out how to do what she’s been told to do,” says Nash. Look for big Lucy moments in Episode 1.
The Tech Guru: Ernie Malik (Jason Antoon)
Knowing computers inside and out isn’t enough for multitasking Ernie: He always wants to be in learning mode (he’s teaching himself Mandarin early on!). “Ernie has a competence to him that bleeds into everything he does,” says Silber.
The Question Mark: Kate Whistler (Tori Anderson)
Kate is actually more team-adjacent. She’s the conduit between NCIS and the Defense Intelligence Agency, which employs her. “On the surface, she seems much more interested in career and protecting herself,” Silber says. “But she really does want to help solve crime.”
