NCIS: New Orleans fan-favorite Lucas Black left the NCIS spinoff during Season 6. Why was his character Christopher LaSalle written out?
BY
BLAKE HAWKINS
,
KATIE DOLL
,
AND
KIERAN LOUGHLIN
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, premeiring 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 on each of its shows, 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 he lasted almost the entire run of the series. 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 LaSalle on NCIS: New Orleans.
Updated on November 13, 2023 by Katie Doll: Lucas Black leaving NCIS: New Orleans was a shock to fans, who some speculate the show’s quality dropped after his last episode. This article has been updated to reflect how NCIS: New Orleans dealt with the aftermath of Black’s departure, and what his career has involved since then.
Who Was Christopher LaSalle on NCIS: New Orleans?
Christopher LaSalle was a key character in NCIS: New Orleans, from the very beginning. When the series debuted, LaSalle was already the right-hand man to Supervisory Special Agent Dwayne Pride, played by Scott Bakula. LaSalle was known for three things: his Southern accent, his appreciation for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and his litany of personal issues.
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. That happiness, unfortunately, should have been a red flag to viewers.
In 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 with a wake at Pride’s bar, but he was never forgotten by NCIS: New Orleans viewers.
Why Did Lucas Black Leave NCIS: New Orleans?
Like every procedural, NCIS: New Orleans had multiple actors leave over the course of 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 the UK’s Express, Black explained it was his decision 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. Black noted that he worked nearly 70 hours a week over the first three seasons of the series. Ultimately, Lucas Black decided to exit NCIS: New Orleans to spend more time with his family, and no fan can blame him for that.
NCIS: New Orleans Couldn’t Survive After Christopher LaSalle’s Death
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 was never returning they’d stop watching. Twitter/X user @ts4bama13 responded to Black’s tweet announcing his departure by saying the show would never be the same without him. Plenty of viewers felt as though LaSalle was an essential part of the team, and that his absence would contribute to the story crumbling. Some even speculated if the death of such a beloved character would tarnish ratings and viewership numbers.
Looking at the ratings for 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 original NCIS’ numbers. 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 overlap 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
Since departing NCIS: New Orleans in 2019, Black hasn’t appeared in many projects, likely to stick his reasoning for why he left the show in the first place: to focus on his family. In 2021, he reprised his role as Sean Boswell in the ninth Fast and Furious movie F9, one of his most well-known characters to date. 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. For those who are interested in keeping up with the actor’s daily life outside the entertainment industry, they can find him on YouTube where he posts daily hunting and fishing videos with his family.
NCIS: New Orleans is available to stream on Paramount+, Philo, Hulu and Prime Video.
NCIS: New Orleans