First Look at Nia Long in 'NCIS: LA' Season 9

08/31/2017 03:27 pm EDT

Season 9 of NCIS: Los Angeles is on the way this fall, and there's a new face in town.

This summer, Nia Long joined the cast of the CBS series as Shay Mosley, the new executive assistant director of the L.A. NCIS office. The character is replacing Assistant Director Owen Granger, after actor Miguel Ferrer passed away back in January.

EW revealed the first look at Long on NCIS: LA, and it looks as though she's already making an impact on the team.

According to executive producer R. Scott Gemmill, Mosley will be "very different from what our team has dealt with in the past."

"Nia fits in perfectly as a strong woman with a distinctive point of view," Gemmill told EW. "We play her as a Washington insider who thinks our team, as good as they are, can do better. She's here to see them reach their full potential."

Mosley is coming to Los Angeles with her assistant, Special Agent Harley Hidoko (Andrea Bordeaux). Hidoko is an ex-military assistant to Mosley who Gemmill says is "a very staunch supporter of her boss and who's a bit aloof. It takes the guys time to break through that military bearing."

The ninth season of NCIS: Los Angeles will premiere Sunday, October 1 at 9:30 p.m. on CBS.

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