Vanessa Lachey Hinted That Season 2 of 'NCIS: Hawai'i' Gets "Pretty Emotional" (EXCLUSIVE)

Three decades and four spinoffs after the franchise’s flagship series made its network television debut, NCIS is still going strong.

In late 2021, we were introduced to the cast of NCIS: Hawai'i. The team of CIA agents is headed up by Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant, played by Vanessa Lachey.

As the Season 2 finale of the CBS series draws nearer, there are still plenty of questions that need answers, and Vanessa spoke exclusively to Distractify about what’s next. Read on for more!

With only a few episodes of Season 2 left to film, Vanessa warned viewers to expect changes and "big surprises."

"We're shooting Episode 18 right now," she told Distractify of the latter half of the series’ second installment.

Although viewers have only gotten glimpses of Jane’s backstory thus far, Vanessa teased we’ll learn the truth about the single mother of two’s childhood sooner than we think. Jane’s journey is largely inspired by Vanessa’s true life story, which for the actress, can get “pretty emotional.”

“It just comes from a real place," Vanessa explained.

“[The writers] actually pulled from my real life and growing up without my mother and leaning on my father and my father being in the military. And just how I kind of had to put on my armor at a young age, so to speak, and get myself ready for the world. They dive into that in [Episode 18].”

The episode introduces a new cast member, who stars as a young Jane Tennant. “I haven't met her yet, I've just seen her tape,” she shared. “It's gonna be emotional, but it's also exciting.”

“It shows what makes me tick and gives the viewers a reason why I might be a little harder on not only myself, but you know, my family, [and] my team,” the actress added. “It's peeling back the layers of the onion. And so I hope people welcome it because it is a little scary, knowing it's your real life.”

We can only imagine what’s to come as Season 2 of NCIS: Hawai’i has already seen some pretty exciting moments thus far — one of which includes the NCIS: Hawai’i and NCIS: Los Angeles crossover event.

Since then, showrunners announced that the latter is coming to an end after 14 seasons.

For Vanessa, NCIS: Los Angeles’ cancellation is bittersweet. While she’s sad to see the show go, she believes that the CBS spinoff had a “solid, massive, huge run.”

“I'm so proud of them. And they're all so proud of what they've done," she said. "And they're excited about the next chapter in their lives,” Vanessa shared, adding that the casts of NCIS: Hawai'i and NCIS: Los Angeles are "one big happy family."

With the series ending, fans wonder if any NCIS: Los Angeles cast members might move on to NCIS: Hawai’i.

“I think if you asked anybody in either NCIS or NCIS: Los Angeles if they want to come to Hawai'i to work, I believe the answer would be yes. We work in paradise,” she told us.

But according to Vanessa, viewers “will have to wait and see.”

You can see Vanessa Lachey as Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant on new episodes of NCIS: Hawai’i on CBS Mondays at 10 p.m. EST.