The Big Difference In NCIS: LA Season 12 That May Surprise Fans
The NCIS spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles recently debuted its 12th season, following the story of agents Sam Hanna and G. Callen, who work for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's Office of Special Projects cracking cases in LA. What began as a backdoor pilot in NCIS' season 6 soon became a standalone show featuring LL Cool J, Chris O'Donnell, and Daniela Ruah.
While both NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles have seen cast departures (some even controversial), there have also been exciting additions to their actors' roster. For season 12, agent Sam Hanna's daughter is no longer a little kid played by The First Family's Layla Crawford. Instead, now-grown-up Kam is brought to life by Kayla Smith, who is known for her role as Rochelle Mosley in the CW's All American. "Can't wait for everyone to meet Kam all grown up so thankful for this opportunity & to be apart of the @ncisla family," Smith wrote on Instagram the day before the season premiered.
Meet grown-up Kam Hanna on NCIS: LA
NCIS: LA showrunner R. Scott Gemmill told TVLine that Smith's Kam Hanna will have a more prominent role in this latest season. "We focus a bit more on [Sam']s daughter, who is at the same military academy that he went to and trying to get into Annapolis," Gemmill said in an in-depth preview of season 12.
Kam's story is the highlight of season 12 episode 10 called "The Frogman's Daughter," a title that makes direct reference to Kam Hanna's character (via Monsters & Critics). According to CBS, this episode focuses on Kam's kidnapping following her involvement in local protests and agent Sam Hanna's unstoppable efforts to find her.
Before launching her acting career, Smith, who is the daughter of former NBA star Kenny Smith, starred in the 2015 TV reality show Meet The Smiths which followed the ins-and-outs of her family's life (via TVLine). We can't wait to see more of Smith in this season of NCIS: Los Angeles and hopefully many more.