Olivia Swann. Asher Smith/Paramount+
Olivia Swann is breaking down what’s to come on season 2 of NCIS: Sydney after the thrilling — and somewhat complicated — premiere.
Swann, who plays NCIS special agent in charge Michelle Mackey, exclusively told Us Weekly that this season is “explosive, intense, funny and compelling.”
Warning: Spoilers below from NCIS: Sydney season 2, episode 1.
During the season 2 premiere, which aired on Friday, February 7, Mackey and Australian Federal Police (AFP) lead Jim “JD” Dempsey (Todd Lasance) were benched for their season 1 finale actions in which they bent a few rules to get JD’s son back after he was kidnapped.
NCIS: Sydney’s Mackey and JD will be pushed to the limit when season 2 returns — and their dynamic is very different from season 1. “We left off with JD’s son being kidnapped by some pretty shady characters,” Olivia Swann, who plays NCIS special agent in charge Michelle Mackey, exclusively told Us Weekly, recalling the […]
Despite being on the sidelines, Mackey and JD managed to bring Russian assassin Ana Niemus (Georgina Haig), who helped facilitate the kidnapping, to justice. They also learned that Colonel Richard Rankin (Lewis Fitz-Gerald) was involved in the process.
However, after he had a heart attack at NCIS HQ, they realized that someone was controlling him — an unknown villain — and stopped his pacemaker to keep him quiet.
“It’s definitely the underlying mystery of the season,” Swan said about who is really pulling the strings and is responsible for Rankin’s heart attack. “We get kind of little dips into it here and there, and it does kind of ramp up as we go.”
She teased, “The payoff is very, very cool.”
One of the biggest premiere revelations, however, is that Mackey has a teenage son back in the United States that she never told anyone about.
But will viewers ever meet him — and will the rest of her team learn her secret? Swann exclusively told Us what to expect from the rest of the season below:
Is Niemus Gone for Good?
Throughout season 1, the NCIS and AFP team located in Australia tried to hunt down rogue Russian agent Monica Rowe a.k.a. Ana Niemus. During the season 2 premiere, Niemus threatened to take down JD and harm his son if needed unless he shared the identity of the person responsible for trying to take her out.
JD told her that Rankin, who was the middleman that orchestrated her hit (seemingly against his will), was at the hospital. However, it was a trap and JD and Mackey managed to apprehend her following an intense fight.
When asked if Niemus is fully neutralized as a threat to her team, Swann told Us, “My guess is as good as yours,” hinting it might not be the last viewers see of the spy.
Mama Mackey
Swann dished to Us about her dream scenario for Mackey as a mom, saying she would “love to” see the teenager be reunited on screen with his mother.
“I’ve known since season 1 that she’s a mom, and I love that secret that she’s had,” the actress explained. “Having him being older I think is a very cool introduction in addition to her life and herself. And I do hope it’s something that we can explore hopefully at some point.”
She noted that while Mackey shared this secret with JD when they were both facing termination, there’s a “slim” chance she’ll tell the rest of the team.
Swann added that fans will see how being a parent affects her as an agent moving forward. “If it’s a good day, then she’s like, ‘You know what, this is why I do this job to keep the world safe for my son,’” she said of the character’s headspace. “But if it’s a bad day, then I feel like she wrestles with guilt and self-loathing and the pain of being away from her child.”
The Team Is Meshing
In the wake of both Mackey and JD’s absences from headquarters, NCIS agent DeShawn Jackson (Sean Sagar) had to hold down the fort. He oversaw AFP agent Evie Cooper (Tuuli Narkle), tech guru Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson (Mavournee Hazel) and medical examiner Doc Roy “Rosie” Penrose (William McInnes).
“We see the development of that trust, we see the development of a team kind of coming together because … we’re all kind of misfits,” Swann said of the group. “We’re all a bit weird and we’ve got our own quirks, and we’ve got our own way of doing things, but it becomes a little more seamless.”
The ‘Frankenstein Moment’ Isn’t the Craziest Story
In one of the wildest premiere moments, Blue and the doc reheat a dead body so that Blue can read and scan the man’s barcode tattoo. The ink leads to a tech trail that helps the team solve part of the mystery involving Rankin allegedly being blackmailed.
“There is an episode this season where I was like, ‘[I] was not expecting at all.’ The Frankenstein moment, that’s very kind of tame in comparison,” Swann teased. “What I love is no matter how wild and weird it all is, it’s based on reality and truth. There’s a story somewhere that exists that happened where the writers are pulling all of this from.”
Jack’s Kidnapping Is Still on JD’s Mind
Although Jack was safely brought home at the end of season 1, and they get justice for the attack during the season 2 premiere, JD won’t just bounce back to normal.
“The wonderful thing about JD is that he really does bring the heart to the team and as does Todd in such a wonderful way,” Swann explained to Us. “There are moments [when] you get a glimpse of that weight, but it’s always kind of underneath the wonderful, cheeky, fun-loving, easygoing outside.”
How Will Richard Rankin’s Story Continue?
At the end of season 2, episode 1, viewers see that the military funeral at the start of the episode was for Rankin. However, Mackey is let in on the truth, which is that Rankin is in a coma and being protected in an undisclosed military facility.
According to Swann, fans will learn “quite a bit” about Rankin’s connection to the unknown villain and his fate as the season continues.
“I can’t say too much about it because it is part of the interwoven thread,” she teased. “It’s a kind of a bigger world than I think any of the team initially could imagine.”
Get Ready for More Blue
Swann shared that season 2 will focus on learning the back stories of Mackey and her team, her favorite of which is Blue. “I’m a Blue fan through and through till I die,” the actress told Us. “I’ve already seen what Mavournee can do and she’s fantastic. I’m really excited for everyone to see more of her and Blue because she nailed it.”
She noted that everyone’s stories will be “meshing” together this season in a “really exciting” and “organic way.”
NCIS: Sydney airs on CBS Fridays at 8 p.m. ET.
