NCIS: New York premiere opens with Sam Hanna investigating Jack Halloway's mysterious death- recap ahead

CBS's latest police procedural series, NCIS: New York, premiered on October 6, 2026. A spin-off of NCIS, this series follows Special Agent Sam Hanna, who returns to his hometown, New York City, to investigate the murder of Jack Halloway. Eventually, he joins the NCIS's New York City unit.

The premiere shows Sam working a case in Dubai. However, he is distracted by repeated calls on his cell phone. It turns out Jack Halloway, a Navy Reservist, had called Sam multiple times and left several voicemails. When Sam tries to call back, the call goes unanswered, and he apologizes in the voicemail. Unfortunately, by then, the Navy Reservist is lying dead on a bench in Central Park.

Sam returns to New York to find out what happened to Jack Halloway. He visits NCIS's New York office at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and tries to convince Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robyn Wells (Jennifer Beals) to let him investigate the case. Robyn partners Sam with Nick Schaeffer (Scott Caan). Other members of the team include Special Agent Addison “Addy” Ross (Jacqueline Byers), Sean Sullivan (Devin Druid), and Special Agent Wyatt Sellers (Shane Harper). Sean is a techie who works for NCIS because he was caught hacking the police pension fund.

Here's more about the premiere episode.

NCIS: New York Season 1 Episode 1 recap: Sam Hanna returns to New York to investigate Jack Halloway's murder

In the premiere, Sam tells Agent-in-Charge Robyn Wells that he was very close to Jack and that he worked with Jack's father. The NYPD thinks that Jack's death was a suicide, but Sam thinks there's foul play. Initially, Sam insists that he is back in town for just one case; however, he and Nick form a good rapport by the end of the premiere. According to TVLine, Sam then meets the rest of the team, and Jimmy Palmer appears on a Zoom call and confirms that Sam's suspicions were correct: Jack's death was not a suicide, but a murder. Robyn sends a team to investigate.

NCIS: New York Season 1 premiere recap: Sam and Nick meet Jack's widow, Janice

Sam and Nick team up for the investigation. While they are on their way to meet Janice, Jack's wife, they talk about their childhood. We find out that Sam spent his childhood in Brooklyn, while Nick grew up in Bay Ridge, and most of his family are part of law enforcement.

Elsewhere, Addy and Wyatt find a second bullet at the crime scene. The second bullet proves Jack's death was not a suicide. When Sam visits Janice, he finds out that she is pregnant. Janice breaks down and offers to help Sam. Sam promises her that he will find out the culprits behind Jack's death. Nick then calls for a warrant on Jack's boat, thinking something might have gone wrong there; however, Sam doesn't think so.

Sam and Nick meet Jack's first mate, Dave, who claims that nothing went wrong on the boat. However, Sam finds a lockbox with money. Sean finds footage of someone running from the crime scene wearing a baseball cap with a logo. The logo features an angry eel, which points to a minor baseball team in Norfolk, Virginia. It turns out Dave is from Virginia, and the team brings him in for interrogation. Dave claims he did not kill Jack.

Jack Halloway's murder investigation leads the team into a group of deadly mercenaries

The team finds an infrared camera on the boat. The footage showed people jumping off a nearby large ship and climbing to Dave and Jack's boat. They find out that the guys are mercenaries.

Dave then admits that he planted the money on Jack's boat to make him look dirty. The mercenaries, who were trained to kill, forced him because they apparently abducted Dave's online girlfriend, Katrina. When Dave showed Katrina's picture to Nick, Nick told him that he had been catfished.

Dave's cousin had an isolated nightclub in Bushwick where the mercenaries set up a shop. Sam and Nick lead the team, and they take down a guy. However, the mercenaries' target is now an NYU student, the daughter of a Russian mining oligarch. It turns out the rival of the Russian oligarch paid the mercenaries to abduct the girl to use her as leverage.

The mercenaries abduct the girl and bring her to the empty bar. However, they are unaware that Sam and his team are already there. A massive firefight follows. Sam uses the surveillance camera to guide Nick to the upstairs window. Nick fights a thug. Sam shoots the guy dead, saving Nick's life. They eventually get the girl home safe. Sam brings Janice an American flag to honor Jack's service.

NCIS: New York Season 1 Episode 1: Sam agrees to join the team

In the end, Nick tries to talk to Sam about joining the team full-time. Nick tells him that he tried to get into finance and break the family tradition of joining law enforcement, but he eventually came back. He also says Sam is best at what he does and that he wants to work with the best. Sam agrees to join the New York unit of NCIS.

New episodes of NCIS: New York will drop every Tuesday at 9 PM ET on CBS and will be available to stream on Paramount+.

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Also Read: The only NCIS: New York cast guide you need before Season 1

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