CBS Boss Confirms NCIS Spin-off, Offers Alex O'Loughlin Update

You can never have too much of a good thing. Having proven that with a string of successful CSIs, CBS now is looking to capitalize on NCIS' strongest season ever by spinning a new series off of what was essentially a JAG spin-off.

"It's happening. We're doing it," CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler confirmed Wednesday at the TCA Winter Press Tour. "We've seen an outline. We're in great shape, and we're just waiting to get the script. But we're going to cast, and we're going to shoot."

It's yet to be cast, you say? Here's a provocative thought. CBS long ago inked a development deal with Alex O'Loughlin, who had cultivated quite a fan following as the star of the (too) short-lived Moonlight. Perhaps the Aussie hunk could return to the fore as the front man for NCIS 2? Asked separately about the status of O'Loughlin's deal with the Eye, Tassler said, "Hopefully we will [see him soon]."

As for the origin of the NCIS spin-off — which, sources say, will simply follow the cases of a team situated elsewhere — Tassler said that just as the Mark Harmon starrer "was [born of] an episode of JAG, this will be an episode of NCIS" airing later this season.

So, who's with me on the Alex O'Loughlin/NCIS 2 merger?!