NCIS: Los Angeles’ series finale will be two parts, airing May 14 and 21, but production has already wrapped, and the series finale party, celebrating 14 seasons of the drama, was held on the Paramount Studios lot, where the show was filmed.
Parade was on hand at the outdoor bash to speak with the cast, including Eric Christian Olsen, who was already sporting a new look, a slightly shorter haircut than he’s been able to wear since taking on the role of Marty Deeks 13 years ago. Deeks, of course, is well-known for his long, blond, tousled hair.
Olsen is reportedly going to miss several aspects of NCIS: Long hair isn’t one of the things he misses about Los Angeles, especially the cast and crew, and he’s ready to cut it!
“I’m going to cut it.” “I’m going to shorten it,” he tells Parade. “Did you watch the last six months?” It’s been getting shorter and shorter. I understand how emotionally invested fans are in that hair, but I’m going to cut it.”
One of the reasons he might need a shorter ‘do is his new job as an executive producer on the CBS reboot of Matlock, which will feature a gender switch and Kathy Bates in the title role.
“I’m leaving for Toronto to produce that for CBS,” he said, adding that he’s not sure if he’ll write any of the episodes, as he did for NCIS: Los Angeles.
“Our writer is this incredible writer named Jennie Snyder Urman, who created Jane the Virgin,” he says. “I don’t believe I have the necessary skill set.” I really wanted to do that experience because it’s difficult to say to writers, “We need to implement X, Y, and Z if you’ve never done it,” so you have to sit down with an empty page and say, “I’ve got to tell a story.” The first one, ‘Mother,’ I wrote with a writing partner. Then I performed ‘To Live Free or D1e Standing’ by myself. That process was incredible, but I’m not sure I’ll keep writing.”
In the new Matlock, on which he serves as EP, brilliant septuagenarian Madeline Matlock (Bates) returns to work at a prestigious law firm, where she uses her unassuming demeanor and cunning tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within.
Jason Ritter, Skye P. Marshall, David Del Rio, and Leah Lewis will join her.
Olsen will not be acting in the series, and he has yet to announce his next project in front of the camera, but he does have several other projects in the works that he will be producing.
Cloud Nine, Olsen’s production company, sold two comedies and two dramas to CBS: Family Insurance, a single-camera Latinx family workplace comedy; Mixed Signals, a single-camera romantic comedy; Peculiar, a cr1me drama; and an untitled legal drama.
Related News – Be sure to get some more news when it comes to NCIS.