NCIS: New Orleans—The First Season

The second spin-off of the CBS warhorse NCIS (which is still the most popular scripted drama on network TV) serves up a different kind of military gumbo. Scott Bakula stars as Dwayne Pride, a veteran investigator whose love for New Orleans exceeds his fidelity to military protocol. Pride operates out of a reclaimed brick warehouse instead of a high-tech government HQ, and his team consists of two field agents—amiable good old boy Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black) and Midwest transfer Meredith Brody (Zoe McLellan)—along with an idiosyncratic forensic scientist (Rob Kerkovich) and the city medical examiner (C.C.H. Pounder), who offers sage advice and unwavering support. The series differs from previous NCIS shows by making the team more a part of the city than the military structure, stirring in the music and color of New Orleans, along with a culture of political corruption and crime, represented by Steven Weber as a calculating councilman and Callie Thorne as a businesswoman using her company as a cover for smuggling and other criminal activities (both appear in recurring roles). It's hardly as rich or dense as HBO's Treme but it does add a colorful flavor to an otherwise familiar procedural series. Compiling all 23 episodes from the 2014-15 first season, extras include the two-part NCIS story "Crescent City" that launched the characters, audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes. Enjoyable but inessential viewing for NCIS fans, this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)