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Is it fair to compare the new CBS series “NCIS: Los Angeles” with the show from which it was spun off, “NCIS”? Probably not, so let’s do it quickly before anyone notices.

“NCIS” is one of the two or three most popular dramas on television because it is written and, most important, cast to achieve a certain effect: the police show as screwball comedy. It’s all about banter and rapport, and the ensemble, especially Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo as the bickering agents Tony and Ziva, is shrewd and talented enough to work inside that framework. (Also, the ostensible lead, Mark Harmon, has the grace and good sense not to try to dominate.)

On the evidence of Tuesday night’s first episode, “NCIS: Los Angeles” is going to try for something similar, but it takes time: “NCIS” has had six seasons. The two leads, Chris O’Donnell and L L Cool J, work well together, but for now “Los Angeles” is a different, more generic type of show: buddy cops at the beach.

The chances are that the series — orchestrated, as the original is now, by the executive producer Shane Brennan — will get some time to develop. Not only does it have the residual affection of “NCIS” fans, it also has “NCIS” as its lead-in. And while the new series may not stand out at this point, it’s already a better-than-average cop show, well paced, with reasonably snappy and believable dialogue.

Plots are a minor consideration here, and viewers will be about 10 minutes ahead of the investigators throughout the first episode, which involves a murdered Navy officer and Mexican drug cartels. (The homicide rate among Navy and Marine personnel in the “NCIS” shows is comparable to that of the residents of Cabot Cove in “Murder, She Wrote.”) “Los Angeles” was introduced on an episode of “NCIS” last spring that ended in a cliffhanger, but that is resolved right away with a slow pan over the healed bullet wounds of Special Agent Callen (Mr. O’Donnell).

Callen and his partner, Hanna (LL Cool J), lead an investigative team of six. Throw in Linda Hunt as their Q, a combination paymaster, gadget dispenser and den mother named Hetty, and you have seven prominent characters, which is too many. The producers may be planning to see what works and then cut back.

In keeping with the new location, this branch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service specializes in undercover work, i.e. acting. The premiere doesn’t really explore the possibilities of that conceit, and it’s not clear that Mr. O’Donnell, as the primary operative, will have the range to do much with it.

So far the effect of the move west is mainly architectural. One of the charms of the original “NCIS” is that the office where the agents spend most of their time bears a resemblance to the cubicled workplaces most of us are familiar with. “Los Angeles” succumbs to the current television preference for offices that look like the stage sets they are. (I blame “The Real World.”) This one most closely resembles an old Hollywood hotel lobby.

But the pilot rises just far enough above its sometimes tired trappings to make you curious about Week 2. The presence of Ms. Hunt, in her first regular television role (she had a recurring part on “The Practice”), is a special bonus. She brings a sweet gravity to everything she does, like tucking in Callen when he sleeps at the office rather than going home to his seedy beachfront motel. It’s exactly the right note for a lighthearted drama, if that’s the kind of show you’re trying to make.

NCIS: Los Angeles

CBS, Tuesday nights at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time. Created and written by Shane Brennan; Mr. Brennan and R. Scott Gemmill, executive producers; John P. Kousakis, co-executive producer. Produced by CBS Television Studios.

WITH: Chris O’Donnell (Special Agent G. Callen), LL Cool J (Special Agent Sam Hanna), Linda Hunt (Hetty Lange), Peter Cambor (Nate Getz), Daniela Ruah (Special Agent Kensi Blye), Adam Jamal Craig (Special Agent Dominic Vail) and Barrett Foa (Eric Beal).

Source: Freebase, licensed under CC-BY
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