As the dual writers and actors strikes continue to grind production to a halt in the US, a major broadcaster has pivoted Down Under to find “fresh scripted fare” – and found it in its biggest drama franchise of the past decade.
NCIS, otherwise known as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Major Case Response Team, has come to the rescue.
“With new seasons of all CBS-scripted series delayed by the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the network has relied on shows from within Paramount Global and beyond for fresh scripted fare to put on the fall [September to December] schedule,” reported Deadline on September 5.
We all know the original starring Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs … and series set in Los Angeles, Hawaii and New Orleans.
And now Sydney.
Variety was quick off the mark to share the news with the US market: “Crikey! CBS just smiled and gave us a Vegemite sandwich.”
Aptly titled NCIS: Sydney, it’s the first international spinoff for a CBS Studios global drama franchise, commissioned last year by Paramount+ and the Paramount-owned Network 10.
“At the heart of NCIS are charismatic and engaging characters that audiences fall in love with. We have found just that with our incredible cast and the tight team they have formed.
“This first international iteration has all the DNA of the beloved franchise, but with a quintessentially Australian flavour,” says producer EndemolShine Australia’s head of scripted Sara Richardson.
Added CBS Studios international productions boss Lindsey Martin: “We are thrilled to be expanding the NCIS franchise, one of our most powerful and iconic television IPs, across borders and into Australia”.
Either way, the decision to use NCIS: Sydney to make up for the lack of fresh US content keeps Australia on the radar and opens the door for further pick-ups.
CBS’s program schedule for September through to December has a few holes. Photo: CBS
‘Oh my, that’s not pretty’
As CBS released its programming for the next few months, viewers were quick to notice the blank 10pm time slot and made their sentiments felt.
“I’m really sorry about all our favorite shows being delayed due to SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes … But I do look forward to seeing them back soon!” wrote one fan.
Another said “oh my, that’s not pretty” referring to the holes in the TV guide.
We now know it’s being filled by the Sydney series, which will include US and Australian actors.
Starring Olivia Swann (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The River Wild) and Todd Lasance (Without Remorse, Spartacus: War of the Damned), the series will focus on the international tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
Tuuli Narkle (Mystery Road: Origin, Bad Behaviour) stars as an Australian Federal Police liaison officer, Mavournee Hazel (Shantaram, Halifax: Retribution) as AFP forensic scientist (hopefully she has the same quirks as Abby Sciuto’s Pauley Perrette) Bluebird ‘Blue’ Gleeson, and William McInnes (The Newsreader, Total Control) as AFP forensic pathologist Dr Roy Penrose.
“US NCIS agents and the Australian Federal Police are grafted into a multinational taskforce to keep naval crimes in check in the most contested patch of ocean on the planet,” reads the official synopsis.
Variety reports the NCIS: Sydney series comes alongside another international import (the original UK version of the comedy Ghosts), the broadcast TV original premiere of Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, and other Paramount+ fare including FBI True and Seal Team (which had originally aired on CBS before moving to the streamer).
Unscripted and “supersized” editions of Survivor and The Amazing Race are also getting runs.
Cast of Breaking Bad join the chorus
Meanwhile, on May 2, the Writers Guild of America called for a general strike that includes TV and film writers across the US, and is the first WGA strike since 2007, when it lasted 100 days.
On July 14, SAG-AFTRA also went on strike, marking the first time since 1960 that both actors and writers were on strike at the same time.
The unions have reportedly not held talks since August 27 with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), but remain “ready at a moment’s notice to go back to the bargaining table to secure a righteous deal”.
Strikes continued throughout last weekend’s US Labor Day long weekend from Los Angeles to New York, and a vastly reduced quota of A-listers walked the red carpet during the 10-day Venice Film Festival.
The latest high-profile stars to picket include the cast of Breaking Bad, who reunited to call upon Hollywood studios to resume negotiations with striking screen actors.
“We want you to come back to the table with us,” Bryan Cranston (aka Walter White) said on Tuesday in a plea to the AMPTP.
He was joined by Aaron Paul, Jesse Plemons and other members of the Breaking Bad universe in an effort to energise picket lines more than a month after SAG-AFTRA joined striking Hollywood writers.
Both guilds are seeking to address issues brought about by the dominance of streaming services, which have changed all aspects of production and pay in the industry.
“The way things were structured 10 years ago made a lot of sense and it made it more possible for journeymen-type actors, actors in the middle that are working just as a hard or harder,” Plemons said.
By its final season, which aired more than a decade ago, Breaking Bad was one of the most watched and highest-rated cable TV shows ever.
The AMC hit series has achieved enduring popularity on Netflix, but its stars say that has not been reflected in their pay.
“I don’t get a piece from Netflix on Breaking Bad, to be totally honest, and that’s insane to me,” Paul said.
“A lot of these streamers know that they have been getting away with not paying people a fair wage and now it’s time to pony up.”
Cranston said they chose Sony for their reunion as the studio behind the Emmy-winning hit, along with its spinoff projects, the AMC prequel series Better Call Saul and the Netflix film El Camino.
“We’re not making them the enemy. They are not villains. These are people that we all will be working with once again at some point,” Cranston said.
“We just want them to see reality.”
NSIC: Sydney premieres on Paramount+ on November 10 (and on CBS on November 13)
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