CBS premieres spinoff NCIS: New Orleans—executive produced by Gary Glasberg—on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 9 p.m. ET. The following are reviews from TV critics around the web, compiled by B&C.
“Bakula is a strong anchor for a series like this one, and the supporting cast is likable and engaged. There are worse shows on television, and other procedurals that offer worse foundations for storytelling. However, based on the framework laid out by producers, NCIS: New Orleans is primarily concerned with continuing the franchise, at the expense of telling stories of the lived realities of its primary setting.”
—Myles McNutt, A.V. Club
“Despite conspicuous creole flavoring, this second spinoff looks likely to pick up pretty seamlessly where the L.A. edition left off – with Bakula providing good company, and justice served up faster than street-vendor gumbo.”
—Brian Lowry, Variety
“Not an especially good first episode (the two-part backdoor pilot on NCIS last spring was better), but one I may return to on occasion, just like the original series, just to see the actors work.”
—Alan Sepinwall, HifFix
“The plot of the pilot, which begins with the discovery of a severed leg in a load of shrimp, is clever enough and manages to fit a lot of locations into its 40-minute hour. That time is also filled with cornball dialogue, shameless sentimentality and B-movie displays of toughness — the agents muscling their way around town, barking ‘NCIS!’ as if that would mean anything to a person not conversant with the TV series.”
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times
“Mediocrity, obviously, is not what we should hope for from a spinoff of TV's most popular drama, just as another CSI/NCIS incarnation is much less than we should demand from America's most popular network. Still, keeping in mind that things could always be worse — and in the case of this New Orleans based NCIS spinoff, actually were much worse — a just-OK start is at least a step up.”
—Robert Bianco, USA Today
