Preview: Rocky Carroll on “48 Hours: NCIS”
The CBS series “NCIS” is America’s most-watched drama. It follows a fictional team of military investigators, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, that delves into cases involving members of the Navy and Marines.
Starting tomorrow, “48 Hours” takes an in-depth look at several real NCIS cases that agents can’t forget. The first episode of “48 Hours: NCIS,” titled “The Double Cross,” focuses on a murdered sailor, her husband, and the dead man found in their bedroom.
Actor Rocky Carroll, who plays Director Leon Vance on “NCIS,” narrates the new series.
On “CBS This Morning” Monday, Carroll acknowledged that he has now jumped from the world of fiction to non-fiction.
“This is the real thing, so I’m branching out a bit,” he said. “I’m going from the world of make-believe -- although most of our cases that we cover on the show are based on real cases -- but now we have this six-episode series of real NCIS cases, and I’ve been given the honor of being the narrator.”
Co-anchor Charlie Rose asked, “You think those watching ‘NCIS’ would want to see that kind of thing because it would be more interesting?”
“Yeah, I have a few of those at home!” Carroll replied. “My wife, who loves ‘48 Hours,’ these sort of unsolved mysteries, it seems that they can’t get enough of that. So I’m hoping that the ‘NCIS’ fans, those who watch our show every Tuesday night, will follow up and want to have more of [these].”
“48 Hours: NCIS” will feature agents that have worked on some of the agency’s most significant investigations. Over six episodes, they will reveal, step-by-step, how they track killers, crack fraud cases, and how they hunt terrorists using street smarts and technology.
“It’s so fascinating to be able to hear the actual NCIS agents in the ‘48 Hours’ piece,” said co-anchor Norah O’Donnell. “How did they feel about retelling their story?”
“In the nine seasons -- knock wood now -- that I’ve been part of this great franchise, I’ve had chances to go to some of the NCIS headquarters, meet with the agents, sit in the real director’s office, [and] we get nothing but positive feedback,” Carroll said.
“What our motto always is, is that the star of the show is the agency, and we try to put the agency in its best light. I guess the proof is when we meet the real agents and the real people of NCIS and their response is so warm and they thank us for what we do and how we brought up recruitment -- nobody asks them what NCIS stands for anymore!
“A lot of them are former military, and it’s just their continued service to their country the thing that drives them, the search for truth, the search for answers. And that’s what we try to portray on our series. I think that’s what people are connected to.
“I’ve been asked over and over, ‘Why is this show so successful after 14 years?’ I said, ‘If I knew that answer, I’d bottle it and sell it!’ There was something uniquely about the sense of purpose that these people have that is infectious for the viewer.”
“48 Hours: NCIS” premieres Tuesday, April 25 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
For more info:
- “48 Hours: NCIS”
- “NCIS” (cbs.com)