‘NCIS,’ ‘The Boys’ & More Shows With New Characters We’re Excited to Meet Next Season

The Boys Jensen Ackles Robin Givens Gary Cole
Courtesy of Amazon Studios; Amy Sussman/Getty Images for BET; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Another new season of TV usually means new characters coming onto our favorite shows to shake things up. The 2021-2022 season will be no different.

In fact, one of the new characters was on our list last season, as we’re still waiting to see Jensen Ackles’ debut on The Boys (especially after what we have seen so far). For one of the Arrowverse shows, we’re especially excited for who a character could be, given how the previous season ended. For another, we’re glad we’re not losing a cast member and especially intrigued by just how different a new character will be from his old.

Scroll down to take a look at the six shows with new characters we’re excited to meet next season. (Note: Only one is a new show, due to the circumstances under which we’ll likely meet its cast.)

Robin Givens attends the BET Awards Radio Broadcast Center
Amy Sussman/Getty Images for BET

Batwoman

Robin Givens is a new series regular in Season 3, playing Jet Industries CEO Jada Jet. Because her character description includes the juicy detail that she gave up her first-born child, speculation immediately started that she’s playing the mother of Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie). The Season 2 finale ended with Alice (Rachel Skarsten) dropping a bombshell on Batwoman that her mom, whom she thought died in childbirth, is alive.

Jensen Ackles The Boys Season 3 Soldier Boy
Courtesy of Amazon Studios

The Boys

We’re still just as excited about Supernatural‘s Ackles debuting as Soldier Boy, the original Superhero who became the first super celebrity after fighting in World War II, as we were when the casting was first announced. And he’s not the only new character joining the Amazon Original series.

Kristen Hager Guy Lockard
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for DIRECTV; Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for the Audio Publisher Association

Chicago Med

The One Chicago drama may have said goodbye to two original cast members (Torrey DeVitto and Yaya DaCosta) at the end of Season 6, but the hospital’s staff is growing in the fall. Kristen Hager’s Dr. Stevie Hammer is an emergency room attending, while Guy Lockard’s Dr. Dylan Scott used to be a police officer. We can’t wait to see if they clash with the other doctors and if we get any fun P.D. crossovers through Scott.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow - Matt Ryan as John Constantine
The CW

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

As revealed during the Legends of Tomorrow Comic-Con@Home panel, Matt Ryan’s time as John Constantine is coming to an end in Season 6. However, his time on the show isn’t. He’s going to be playing a new character in Season 7: Dr. Gwyn Davies, an eccentric scientist from the early 20th century who might be the team’s only hope. How could we not be excited to see just how different Gwyn will be from Constantine, how he fits in with the Legends, and Ryan in this role?

John Bishop Jacob Anderson Doctor Who Season 13 Dan Vinder
James Pardon/BBC Studios/BBC America

Doctor Who

It’s going to be hard not to have the fam around in Season 13, but we do know at least two new characters — Dan (John Bishop) and Vinder (Jacob Anderson) — we’ll see alongside the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and Yaz (Mandip Gill). Plus, as showrunner Chris Chibnall revealed during the Comic-Con@Home panel: “It’s all one story,” so “quite a few of the amazing guest actors [this season] recur across multiple episodes, which is very unusual for the show.” We’re intrigued!

Luke Kleintank
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

FBI: International

This is the only new show on this list because technically, we’ll likely be meeting all its characters on FBI and FBI: Most Wanted, as a three-show crossover kicks off their 2021-2022 season. (Most Wanted and International are switching time slots for premiere night before the newest spinoff claims its regular 9/8c hour.) What will make this new team of agents stand out from the other two shows’ investigators, besides the fact that they don’t carry guns? How will Luke Kleintank’s character do as head of the unit?

Gary Cole Veep Premiere
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

NCIS

We don’t know much about Gary Cole’s FBI Special Agent Alden Park other than he’s not replacing Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs. (We don’t know how much of Season 19 Harmon will be in, but his character is still suspended from NCIS.) How exactly will he cross paths with — and stay in the orbit of — the NCIS team?