‘NCIS: New Orleans’ spoilers: New casting; Scott Bakula on show’s challenges

As a part of the TCA Summer Press Tour on Thursday, CBS decided to understandably bring the newest chapter in the “NCIS” franchise in “NCIS: New Orleans” for a panel discussion, and while present there was some brand-new information dropped from the casting department

In addition to all of the cast members you already know about, Rob Kerkovich (“Cloverfield”) has been added in the role of a forensic scientist for the time. the show is trying to round out the cast with as many interesting people as possible, and we feel good about the fact that this at least won’t feel similar to the other versions of the show in a bad way.

Scott Bakula was also asked a number of questions about the show, and at one point acknowledged that they as a cast “have big shoes to follow, big footprints in the sand…. this is potentially a great partnership of a new show, but the ball that’s being handed off is a perfect spiral.” In other words, Scott feels pretty good about it.

At the moment, we’re at least confident that the show will have viewers out of the gate. It is replacing “NCIS: Los Angeles” on Tuesday night, Bakula is a proven TV star, and New Orleans is a popular place. The only things that could hurt it are an over-abundance of police / mystery shows (which we worry about with the launch of almost everything new), and also what would happen if the show starts slow and takes a few weeks before it gets crazy.

Are you excited about the new chapter in the “NCIS” franchise, or nervous about it for whatever reason? Either way, we want to hear your thoughts and predictions all about it below.