At this point, LL Cool J has become as much of the face of the NCIS franchise as Mark Harmon has. After starring in NCIS: Los Angeles for 14 years, his character, Sam Hanna, appeared frequently in the show’s Hawaii edition. Now he’s starring in a new spinoff, this one taking place in Sam’s (and LL’s) hometown of New York.

Opening Shot: Shots of Dubai. NCIS Special Agent Sam Hannah (LL Cool J) is in the middle of a solo operation and his phone is ringing. His friend’s adult son and leaves him a desperate message. But by the time Sam can return his calls, the man is dead.

The Gist: Because the man is a Navy reservist, NCIS’ New York bureau, led by ASAC Robyn Wells (Jennifer Beals), gets the case. But Sam, who has been on solo missions for NCIS since his time in Los Angeles, tells Wells that he needs to be involved in this investigation, because he doesn’t think it’s the suicide it appears to be.

Sam is introduced to Agents Nick Schaeffer (Scott Caan), Addy Ross (Jacqueline Byers) and Wyatt Hill (Shane Harper), and computer specialist Sean Sullivan (Devin Druid). And while ASAC Wells thinks that Sam is too close to this case, she pairs him with Nick, anyway. As they investigate the case, Nick starts to think that the victim was involved in something shady, but Sam, who worked with the victim’s father, insists he wasn’t.

As the elements of the case come together and involve the operator of the tugboat the victim worked on, Nick starts to think that Sam should join the New York office. Given that both are Big Apple natives, he feels he can appeal to Sam on that level. But Sam has some doubts.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? NCIS: New York is of course a spin-off of NCIS. Actually, given that LL Cool J is in it, it could be considered a spin-off of NCIS: Los Angeles, on which he starred for 14 seasons. LL also was a frequent guest star on the now-defunct spin-off NCIS: Hawaiʻi.

Our Take: R. Scott Gemmill, the creator of NCIS: New York, knows the NCIS formula pretty well, and his time on the LA spinoff also means he knows Sam Hanna well. So, even though franchise first-timer Byron Belasco is the showrunner here, there’s no evidence that New York is going to stray from the franchise’s quarter-century-old formula.

That means a lot of smart-ass dialogue, people staring at scrolling text on computer monitors, and lots of chases, gunfire, and hand-to-hand combat. We say that as if it’s a bad thing, but we’re actually okay with New York feeling the same as every other franchise entry, albeit with New York locations (helpfully IDed by graphics before each scene) changing the visual landscape.

It starts with the crackling chemistry that LL and Caan have as soon as they share the screen together. Caan’s funny tough-guy style, which he honed on Hawaii Five-O for ten seasons, fits perfectly in the NCIS universe. And there’s a semi-improvisational feel to his scenes with LL that will make fans of the franchise feel immediately comfortable. Yes, the case in the pilot is a bit suspicious and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But that is something that will vary from episode to episode.

Performance Worth Watching: The rest of the ensemble is solid, of course. Though we wish a bit more for Jennifer Beals, who plays the boss, ASAC Wells, than just scenes where she gives orders from either her office or a darkened computer room.

Parting Shot: Sam agrees to stay with the New York bureau, at least for the time being.

Our Call: STREAM IT. NCIS: New York isn’t doing anything that will make fans of the franchise scratch their heads. They stick to the formula, but the show is aided by the immense charms of both LL Cool J and Scott Caan, and the chemistry they have as partners.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.