The NCIS franchise is one of CBS's most successful properties. The flagship series has been running for 20 seasons, with the spinoff NCIS: Hawai'i renewed for a third season and the most recent spinoff, NCIS: Sydney, having premiered in November 2023. Then there's NCIS: New Orleans, which ended in 2021 — much to the dismay of fans, who still talk about the spinoff, featuring Lucas Black as Christopher LaSalle.
The NCIS franchise has had its fair share of deaths in each show, including the original and spinoffs. Life or death situations are par for the course of being an agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, adding a sense of tense realism to each show. But that doesn't absolve any character death from being controversial among viewers. LaSalle was a fan-favorite among NCIS: New Orleans viewers and lasted almost the entire run. However, audiences were shocked when the character left the program in one of its most emotional storylines, which raises the question of what happened to Christopher LaSalle on NCIS: New Orleans.
Updated by Alex Roush on September 22, 2024: Lucas Black's character, Christopher LaSalle, created a huge draw for the show. When he left, fans were shocked and wondered why. This article has been updated to include additional information on the NCIS franchise, enhance the reader experience, and fit current CBR formatting guidelines.
Who Was Christopher LaSalle on NCIS: New Orleans?
The Troubled Agent's Redemption Arc Made Him a Fan-Favorite
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Christopher LaSalle has been a key character since the start of NCIS: New Orleans. When the series debuted, LaSalle was the right-hand man to Supervisory Special Agent Dwayne Pride, played by Scott Bakula. LaSalle was known for three things: his Southern accent, appreciation for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the litany of personal issues like other procedurals' main characters.
LaSalle's girlfriend and high school sweetheart, Savannah, is murdered in Season 1.
After this, the troubled agent has multiple casual relationships, leading him to suspect in Season 3 that he has fathered a child (he hadn't).
In his final season, however, LaSalle seemed to have pulled his life together. Season 6 revealed he was attending church with Dr. Loretta Wade, and felt like he was doing more good in the world. Good things never have fulfilling endings in the world of NCIS, though. That happiness, unfortunately, should have been a red flag to viewers, as it so often is in police procedural arcs.
In NCIS: New Orleans Season 6, Episode 6, "Matthew 5:9," LaSalle was shot while investigating his brother's death at the hands of an Alabama drug ring. He was taken to the hospital but died from his wounds, surrounded by his team members. LaSalle was remembered at a wake at Pride's bar, and he was never forgotten by long-time viewers. One could say that LaSalle's death was the beginning of the end of NCIS: New Orleans.
Why Did Lucas Black Leave NCIS: New Orleans?
The Actor Explained His Motivation
Like every procedural, NCIS: New Orleans had multiple actors leave throughout the series. The flagship NCIS saw Jennifer Esposito leave the show after a single season, and Dick Wolf's FBI: Most Wanted wrote out Julian McMahon after two-and-a-half seasons. While fans were angry about NCIS: New Orleans killing off LaSalle — some even hoped it was one of Pride's nightmares — the reason why actor Lucas Black left is similar to why McMahon is no longer in the FBI franchise.
In an interview with Express in 2021, Black explained he decided to leave New Orleans. "All throughout my career, there was a concern because I would observe how the entertainment industry would destroy families," he said. "The way it's run, you're traveling, it's a very fast pace, lots of long hours, especially in television." Black noted that he worked nearly 70 hours a week over the first three seasons of the series, so he decided to take some time to rest and re-engage with the priorities his wife and children have in his life. Ultimately, no one can blame Lucas Black's decision to exit NCIS: New Orleans.
NCIS: New Orleans Couldn't Survive After Christopher LaSalle's Death
For Many Fans, Christopher LaSalle Made NCIS: NOLO
Christopher LaSalle's death was necessary for Black's career and home life, but it may have come at a cost for NCIS: New Orleans. Fans of the show openly expressed discontent with the decision to kill off LaSalle, proclaiming that if LaSalle would never return they'd stop watching. X user @ts4bama13 responded to Black's tweet announcing his departure, saying the show would never be the same without him. Many viewers felt that LaSalle was an essential part of the team and that his absence would make the story crumble. Some even speculated if the death of such a beloved character would tarnish ratings and viewership numbers.
NCIS: New Orleans only lasted through Season 7.
While many fans claimed to see it coming, others couldn't understand why it had been canceled, and although CBS didn't say exactly why, ratings are almost always the answer.
Looking at the ratings for NCIS: New Orleans Season 6 specifically, LaSalle's death appeared to have boosted the ratings for some time — a steady growth to a peak of 7.05 million viewers for Episode 10 — but then the show dipped right after, staying relatively in between the 5-6.5 million margin. Season 7's viewership numbers decreased dramatically to around 4 to 5 million viewers per episode. The show was canceled in Season 7 because of poor ratings, failing to muster even half of the numbers for the original NCIS.
Another reason could be that CBS wanted to draw more focus on its newest series, NCIS: Hawai'i, but the sudden drop in viewers from Season 6 to Season 7 may have overlapped with LaSalle's sudden death. Some Reddit users believed that, combined with the move to a Sunday slot after NCIS: Los Angeles and mediocre story quality, Black's departure may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.
Lucas Black’s Career Outside NCIS: New Orleans
The Series Is Just One Part of Black’s Extensive Career
Since departing NCIS: New Orleans in 2019, Black hasn't appeared in many projects, likely to stick to his reasoning for why he left the show in the first place: to focus on his family. But he has been in a few star-studded blockbusters since his exit. In 2021, he reprised his role as Sean Boswell, one of the fastest drivers in F9, the ninth Fast and Furious movie, and one of his most well-known characters. He has also worked on a few Christian films since NCIS: New Orleans with the Pure Flix Original streaming service: Legacy Peak and Birthright Outlaw.
Fans of LaSalle who want to see more of his range should look to his past filmography before and during NCIS: New Orleans. The actor has consistently starred in critically acclaimed films such as The X-Files, The Miracle Worker, Friday Night Lights, Promised Land, and 42. He also had a recurring role in the television horror series American Gothic. Fans interested in keeping up with the actor's daily life outside the entertainment industry can find him on YouTube, where he posts daily hunting and fishing videos with his family.
NCIS: Origins Premieres This October
The Series Is the Sixth in the NCIS Franchise
The latest installment of the NCIS franchise, NCIS: Origins, will begin airing in October 2024. The series will act as a prequel to NCIS and follows a younger Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Austin Stowell stars as Gibbs at the beginning of his career, having just become a special agent. Mark Harmon will be voicing the narration of NCIS: Origins, reminiscent of how Jim Parsons narrated his character’s prequel story in Young Sheldon.
The actor will also be making a short appearance in the series premiere, the first time Harmon has portrayed the character in several years. Fans of the NCIS franchise can look forward to the two-episode premiere of NCIS: Origins, which comes to CBS on October 14, 2024. The channel will air new episodes every Monday before they become available to stream on Paramount+ the following day.
