Here’s a collection of news, casting information, questions, photos, tweets and videos relating to NCIS: New Orleans<\/i>, NCIS<\/i>, Criminal Minds<\/i> and NCIS: Los Angeles<\/i> that have been shared over the past two weeks. (Contains spoilers and 126 embedded photos\/tweets\/videos!)<\/p>\n
\nNCIS: NOLA<\/big><\/b><\/u><\/p>\n
\nOn Monday, September 1, CBS Fall Preview<\/a> will air on the network from 8:30-9:00pm ET\/PT. The special will offer a look at five new series, including NCIS: New Orleans<\/i>, featuring behind-the-scenes moments and cast interviews.<\/p>\n \nThere will be a screening of New Orleans<\/i> at PaleyFest<\/a> on Sunday, September 7 (in New York and LA).<\/p>\n \nThe USS Kidd, a historic naval warship, will appear<\/a> in an episode of the spinoff. According to USS Kidd executive director Alex Juan<\/b>, “This partnership couldn’t come at a better time as we’ve been looking for creative ways to generate more income and having NCIS<\/i> film here will not only help us financially, but will highlight both the Kidd and the city of Baton Rouge.” (You can read more about the ship on Wikipedia<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \nScott Bakula<\/b> (Dwayne Cassius Pride) spoke to WLOX News<\/a> about New Orleans<\/i>. “It’s just an incredibly rich kind of fabric of a place to tell stories from,” he said. “It’s not a new town. So for a show like ours that needs great character, we get a ton from the city, you know the birth place of jazz etc., the great food and then we have all the wonderful people who live here.”<\/p>\n \nBakula’s character is largely based on technical adviser D’Wayne Swear<\/b>, former chief of the real New Orleans NCIS office. “Though it is entertainment, they really are focused on reality,” Swear told WLOX News<\/a>. “They ask me questions about the sets, if they really look this. They also ask about steps in an investigation and they really do it.”<\/p>\n \nHere’s an interview with Zoe McLellan<\/b> (Meredith Brody) from NOLA.com<\/a>. You can read an excerpt below, which discusses her connection to her character:<\/p>\n I don’t really understand the reason why, but I felt, ‘I need to play this person. I need to bring her to life.’ It’s kind of hard to explain in words, but it’s like when you meet someone and feel like you’ve known them before.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \nCCH Pounder<\/b> (Dr Loretta Wade) also spoke to NOLA.com<\/a>. She visited a morgue to research her role as the show’s medical examiner, and the experience “changed my humanity on a personal level.” Pounder was not overwhelmed by the smell of death. Instead, she revealed:<\/p>\n But I was aware of the fact that what I recognize as a living human being was not there, that (the bodies were) just the shell. This was the casing, and that internal spirit that gives us life was indeed gone. So you could look at a body and realize, ‘This was a receptacle, and now I can look into a receptacle and find organs and find bullets and find stray bits in a completely different way, with a completely different attitude.’ I wanted to transfer to my character what I found in terms of solving a mystery in order to help the living.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \nMcLellan started the 20th annual Red Dress Run<\/a> in New Orleans earlier this month. You can find several photos below:<\/p>\n \n