Hawaii Is ‘Evolving The Franchise’ – CBS San Francisco
(CBS) – NCIS welcomed a new addition last week when NCIS: Hawii made its series debut on CBS. The newest version of the NCIS universe, Hawaii, stars Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant, the first female agent in charge of NCIS Pearl.
CBS’s Matt Weiss caught up with Lachey to discuss her way to the show, what Hawaii hopes to achieve and the new BOOM-ing episode tonight.
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MW- Hello Vanessa! Congratulations on the premiere last week. Now that we get started, how does it feel to not just be a part of this show but to be the head of the entire team?
VL- It’s an honor and I don’t take it lightly. I’m excited this is a developing franchise and it’s amazing to be a part of. They said they had trouble finding Jane Tennant during the audition and I was actually on another CBS show, a comedy, believe it or not. So talk about reversing the roles that we were told on March 31st that the comedy is not progressing and I ended up getting very sad and confused.
Then I heard about NCIS: Hawaii and booked the job through mid-April. I was surprised and my career has completely turned left, but I’m so glad it went that way. Here we are now and I live in Hawaii.
MW- Not the worst place to turn your life upside down.
VL- Yes, exactly. Maybe it’s just finally turned on the right side!
MW- [Laughs] Here we go! So we’re an episode with very positive reviews that I am sure will be great to hear. It definitely feels like NCIS to me, but it’s fresh at the same time.
VL- Thanks very much! Yes, it evolves the franchise to show more of a personal life and the vulnerabilities of the family and characters. We’re trying to be loyal to NCIS, but we’d also like to add a few layers that set it apart.
MW- As Jane Tennant, you will be the first female agent in charge of NCIS Pearl. What does it mean to you playing a character like Jane and what are some of your favorite traits about her?
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VL- Oh god, it’s my honor to play them. There are women out there in NCIS so I love that you know making it the norm.
For qualities that I love, I love that they don’t take no for an answer. She will continue to strive for what she wants in a male-dominated profession while doing it with grace. She’s a great mom too. She always has her children on her mind, even when she is at work.
She runs 44 special agents, but she always thinks about her children and always puts them first. She has a love for the country and she honors her country.
At the same time, at the end of the day, she is a vulnerable woman who just wants to love. There’s a lot about her that I love and that’s why I fell in love with this character. When I got the job, I broke down completely because I said to myself, I can do this, I am her, I believe in her, I know what she stands for. I felt like that was me.
MW- Episode two is coming out tonight and I love the title. Episode two is simply called “Boom”.
VL- There’s a lot of explosives out there, a lot. It will keep you busy and hold the edge of your seat. We also introduced a new character, his name is Boom Boom. He’s my explosive type and I think you will really like him too.
We really threw it out of the park with these episodes, we’re going strong out the gate. I hope everyone feels the same way!
MW- Well, we’re all excited to see what happens tonight and the rest of the series progresses. Congratulations again on the role and thank you Vanessa for the time!
VL- Thanks Matt!
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Tune in to NCIS: Hawaii on CBS at 10:00 PM ET / PT on Mondays, or stream live and on-demand with Paramount +. Please refer to your local listings for more information.
