'NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

Drama

Premise: Undercover agents of the Office of Special Projects apprehend dangerous and elusive criminals that pose a threat to the nation's security

Stars: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Louise Lombard, Daniela Ruah, Peter Cambor

VIDEO: 'NCIS: Los Angeles' first look (CBS)

Can a scrappy bunch of Navy investigators take out an entertainment juggernaut? Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, makes no promises, but she does think the one-two punch of veteran show NCIS and newcomer NCIS: LA is "Idol-proof," and calls the original version "the most underrated success story on television."

The NCIS block will kick off with crossovers, as original-recipe actors Pauley Perrette (Abby Sciuto) and Rocky Carroll (Leon Vance) help usher in the spin-off. Why does NCIS get the one-two treatment while shows in the network's other procedural powerhouse family, CSI, does not? "The CSIs are different shows with different operating procedures," Tassler said. "NCIS is all in the same jurisdiction and share the same form. It makes more sense having them in a block."

That's not to say the procedural mothership isn't getting attention from the network. CSI suffered several knocks last season -- the departure of series stalwarts William Peterson (Gil Grissom ), Gary Dourdan (Warrick Brown) and actor George Eads (Nick Stokes) who suffered from back problems and could not be as present on the show. And yes, that caused fans to react, Tassler said. "Fans were a little unsure about where the show was going, and what they wanted more than anything else was to see the group back together."

Then there was the addition of Laurence Fishburne's character, Dr. Raymond "Ray" Langston, to the mix. He had a rough start -- "we didn't [want him to] just insert himself in an authoritative position, he had to earn his place of authority in team," Tassler said -- but by the end of the season, he was in a better position.

Tassler said that arc should continue -- and that's just one of the changes coming to the show:
  • Sara will be back for the first five episodes
  • Ray will get take on more of a leadership role and get more well-versed in the language of CSI. With great responsibility comes... great clothing, apparently. "[Ray has] had a little bit of a wardrobe makeover," Tassler said. "We wanted to see him more comfortable in his clothes." Presumably this means he's less likely to have a blood-soaked tie that gets taken in as evidence after an encounter with a crime scene.