Robyn's NCIS: New York Backstory & Sam Dynamic Broken Down By Jennifer Beals

CBS Published Nov 11, 2026, 9:00 AM EST Adam has been writing in the entertainment news space for over a decade. Beginning his career of covering film and TV at CinemaBlend, he has also appeared on The Flash Podcast and done several radio spots. Sign in to your ScreenRant account LL Cool J’s Sam Hanna has a new boss, and Jennifer Beals has opened up about her NCIS: New York character, Robyn Wells, and her dynamic with the show’s lead protagonist. From 2009 to 2023, LL Cool J starred as Sam in all 14 seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles. After the NCIS franchise’s first spinoff ended, the actor made recurring appearances on NCIS: Hawai’i and a handful of guest appearances on the main NCIS. Now Sam is back to living in the Big Apple after solving the murder of a close friend, and he’s leading his own team out of NCIS’s New York field office. Sam’s field team consists of Scott Caan’s Nick Schaeffer, Shane Harper’s Wyatt Sellers, and Jacqueline Byers’ Addy Ross, along with Devin Druid’s Sean Sullivan serving as a Technical operator. However, it’s Beals’ Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge character who’s ultimately calling the shots back at the New York office as its director. While few details about her life have been revealed yet, Robyn has already proven herself to be a competent leader and a dog-lover, the latter proven by her pup Sid hanging out by her desk on a regular basis. In an interview with ScreenRant’s Adam Holmes, Beals broke down Robyn’s backstory and relationships with NCIS: New York’s other leading characters, as well as what her experience has been like filming the series so far. When asked why she thinks Robyn makes such an effective leader, Beals answered: That's a really interesting question. I think partially because she gives so much agency to her team, and they're all pretty great critical thinkers, and that we work together well. I think, in my mind, she has a college-level athlete background, and is very familiar with what it takes to make a team, and it's not just one person. You're not going to win with just the star player. It's like the Chicago Bulls. No matter how great Michael Jordan is, you can't win unless he passes the ball. So I think there's that. Of the main lineup of NCIS: New York characters, Robyn is the least familiar with Sam, as she met him for the first time when he got involved in the investigation into the aforementioned deceased friend. Nevertheless, familiar with his decades of experience, Robyn was all-too eager to bring Sam aboard, seeing him as a valuable asset. As Beals put it: Sam is the whole package. Sam is great in the field. He's a critical thinker. He's a team player. All of the things, and then the knowledge base is off the charts, and [his] experience. And he's a humanitarian on top of it. So yeah, we were so lucky to have him. Robyn also has an unorthodox, yet caring relationship with Sean. Rather than being sent to prison for hacking into the NYPD pension fund as an “exercise,” the young man agreed to lend his expertise to NCIS instead. While the specific details of how this came about have yet to be revealed, Robyn is clearly invested in making sure Sean stays on the straight and narrow, with Beals further explaining: Honestly, I think there's part of her that sees that recognizes part of herself in him, and I think she sees him more clearly than he may see himself, she wants him to see that. And you can't do that directly; it has to be almost like a Socratic kind of method. But she knows how brilliant he is, and she wants him to know. She knows he's a loner, and she wants him to know what it is to be part of a team, how good that can feel. There have also been teases of Robyn and Nick having a history with each other, with the latter casually saying he platonically loved the former during the NCIS: New York episode “True Love.” Regarding their dynamic, Beals said: I like that they rib each other, but they respect each other. I have so much fun working with Scott. We have a great time. And there's a playfulness there sometimes when Robin will allow it, when it's appropriate. Jennifer Beals Praises Robyn’s Characterization, LL Cool J, And Her Dog Co-Star CBS ScreenRant: How has working on NCIS: New York compared to your work on past procedural/crime shows, like Law & Order: Organized Crime? Well, I was just on Law and Order: Organized Crime [as a] special guest, it was only a few episodes. So what's beautiful about this is that I know that we're going to have all this time to lay out the details of this person's character and their life in a very intentional way, So that's really exciting. And I love working with Byron, and this cast is just incredible. Every day I go to work, I'm so happy. ScreenRant: What was it that drew you to working on NCIS: New York when you first read the pilot script? Did I read the script first? I might have to talk to Byron and then read the script. I don't remember the order, but in any case, I had worked with Byron before, and I respect his writing. So there's a level of trust right there. I have a dog on page three or something. That was a huge bonus. And just hearing him describe how he wanted Robyn to be not the typical hard-ass leader, but a little bit more nuance with other things was appealing to me. ScreenRant: How’s your experience been working with LL Cool J, the guy on the cast who goes back nearly 20 years with the NCIS franchise? It's not even about . . . I don't count how many years they've gone with the franchise. All I know is that [LL] is an amazing leader, like none I've ever seen before. I've never seen a number one like this. I've never seen somebody who takes care of all of the cast, makes space for them, takes care of the crew, has his eye on everything, and also serves up the best playlists all day long. So we are having dance parties. Like, imagine you're working with. Todd, a.k.a. LL Cool J, how your music knowledge is going to be expanded by the playlist. I said, ‘Can we just make these playlists so that I can have them all the time, forever and ever?’ He laughed. And we have such fun. We talk about the Stoics, and we talk about music, and all things. He's incredible, and the hardest worker I've ever met. ScreenRant: I also have to know about getting to share scenes with the best performer of all on NCIS: New York: Dunkin, a.k.a. Sid. I saw the video they posted the other day of you walking around with him. Oh yeah, I was trying to train him because he had a really challenging scene because he's got to walk beside me without a leash from my office through the bullpen while somebody is being dragged out screaming. Then I walk into the kitchen, have another scene, and then he and I do something else, which I can't tell you. And he's got to do it all off leash, and that's a solid five pages. My goal is always to make the set and the studio a happy place for him where he's really excited to come to work. I can see him trying to get it right, like he knows we're working on something, and he's so pleased with himself when he's figured it out. It’s just delicious, and he's just such a wonderful dude … It's like Robin's heart is outside of her body. Jennifer Beals Talks Percy Jackson, Bishop, And The Book Of Boba Fett Roles MovieStillsDB ScreenRant: Along with your work on NCIS: New York, you’ll also be seen soon as Demeter in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 3. What can you tease about your appearance in this popular fantasy series? Well, it's really mostly an introductory time for the character. It doesn't go deep, but there's a bit of a tribunal where we all gather to make a decision. And I love playing Demeter. She's a great character. ScreenRant: You also recently filmed for the upcoming Prime Video series Bishop, which has Joel Kinnaman, John Malkovich, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and many other talents. What was it like working on that show, and what can we expect from your psychologist character, Maggie Loftin? Oh my gosh, that show is amazing. Little Marvin, who's the showrunner, is a genius. It's incredible, and John Malkovich, the part that he plays, I cannot wait to see that. Joel Kinnaman is an incredible scene partner. He's so present and so generous. [The show is] really interrogating this darkness of the soul and how to find the light. ScreenRant: Before I let you go, we’re coming up on five years since The Book of Boba Fett premiered, where you played Madam Garda Fwip. What’s the memory that sticks out the most from your experience on that show, and is there anything you wish you could have done with your character? I mean, in my mind, she's still alive, so it's never too late. Who knows? Every day was being like I was eight years old, and I got to work and just walk around that set and see everything. I mean, I'm in the cantina. I own the cantina. Like, it's crazy, and the costumes were amazing and just excellence. I'm surrounded by excellence. It was extraordinary. I pinch myself still, and I have a bunch of photos they let me take that I have for my personal use. That every now and again, I'll go back and visit. [It’s] good to look back at those memories. NCIS: New York airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS's fall 2026 TV schedule. Release Date October 6, 2026 Network CBS Directors Eagle Egilsson, Adam Davidson Cast Scott Caan Nick Schaeffer Writers R. Scott Gemmill Creator(s) R. Scott Gemmill