It's always impressive when a long-running TV series can attract big Hollywood talent, and "NCIS" and its spinoffs have done it many times. Reunited with her "Freaky Friday" co-star Mark Harmon, Jamie Lee Curtis was announced as a surprise guest star in two episodes of "NCIS" in the series' ninth season, playing Dr. Samantha Ryan, head of DOD PsyOps Division. Curtis would prove too good to confine to just those two episodes, though, and her role was expanded. Her character would eventually appear in a total of five episodes that season and become a romantic interest for Mark Harmon's character Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Executive producer Gary Glasberg spoke about the addition of Curtis upon her casting, saying "the role of '[Samantha] Ryan' got even better when the enormously talented Jamie Lee Curtis agreed to join us. Jamie's shoot-from-the-hip style embodies everything we want from Ryan — humor, heart, strength, and a lot of fun. We couldn't be more excited she's here. And don't be surprised if there are sparks between Gibbs and Ryan. We're expecting some real chemistry" (per EW).
Curtis' appearance drew positive responses from critics, with TV Fanatic saying, after her first episode "Psych Out" aired, "A major reason the episode worked so well was Jamie Lee Curtis' Dr. Samantha Ryan, a uniquely formidable 'brain gamer' and an adversary who temporarily threw Gibbs off his game – not an easy feat."
