NCIS: New Orleans is an American television series, executive produced by Gary Glasberg and Mark Harmon. The series features an extensive regular cast, including Scott Bakula as Dwayne Cassius Pride, Lucas Black as Christopher LaSalle, Zoe McLellan as Meredith Brody and Vanessa Ferlito as Tammy Gregorio. Recurring actors, including Shanley Caswell as Laurel Pride, Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance, and Derek Webster as Raymond Isler, appear intermittently.

Dwayne Cassius "King" Pride (Scott Bakula) is a New Orleans native and former Jefferson Parish deputy sheriff who runs the NCIS Resident Agency in New Orleans.

Pride and his now-estranged wife Linda used to live in the Lower Garden District. His daughter, Laurel, is a music major at Louisiana State University. In "Chasing Ghosts" and "Le Carnaval de la Mort", it is revealed that Pride's father, Cassius (Stacy Keach), is incarcerated in the Gretna Correctional Facility. As of the beginning of season two, Dwayne and Linda officially divorced. With the money Dwayne got from selling their home he paid for Dr. Wade's oldest adopted son and assistant Danny's college, Laurel's college, a place for his father (if he makes parole), as well as buying a fixer-upper bar, TruTone. On the 100th episode, Dwayne reveals he has a half-brother named Jimmy Boyd by his father. Pride has the second highest arrest record in the history of Jefferson Parish's Sheriffs Office.

Pride joined the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 1989, 2 years before NCIS's Leroy Jethro Gibbs; both were part of a group of NIS agents known as the "Fed Five" who gained fame for apprehending Spencer Hanlon, A.K.A. "The Privileged Killer". [For years, the Privileged Killer was erroneously believed to be Victor Lourde, who had been framed by a member of the "Fed Five," Dan MacClain. When MacClain is murdered, the teams discover his frame-up and the reason for it. Their investigation leads them to the Hanlon father and son.] Pride went on to have an illustrious career that took him around the world, including Russia and South Africa, culminating in his return to Louisiana to head up NCIS operations at the United States Marine Corps Support Facility in Algiers, New Orleans before NCIS opened a proper NCIS Resident Agency in New Orleans.

In season 5, S.S.A. Pride, still recovering from gunshot wounds sustained in "Checkmate", accepts a promotion to Special Agent-in-Charge of the NCIS Southeast Field Office, which has an area of responsibility that spans across the states of Georgia and Florida down to the Caribbean and into Central and South America. In "Judgement Call", Pride takes a voluntary demotion, returning to command the New Orleans office in the aftermath of S.S.A. Hannah Khoury's demotion.

Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black) was a senior NCIS Special Agent. Born in Alabama in 1982, LaSalle was originally a detective with the New Orleans Police Department's (NOPD) Fifth District during Hurricane Katrina and then spent seven years on the NOPD vice squad. He attended the University of Alabama, graduating magna cum laude with a 3.7 GPA. While in college, he worked as the university mascot Big Al. LaSalle lives in the French Quarter. He has two siblings: Cade, who has bipolar disorder, and unnamed sister. He has received multiple commendations for his work at the New Orleans children's hospital. During the first season, he begins a romantic relationship with his high school sweetheart, Savannah, though she is later murdered.

In "Ties That Bind", LaSalle’s father, Beau, died; he made Chris—with whom he had an estranged relationship—executor of his estate and his successor at LaSalle Enterprises.

In the season six episode, "Matthew 5:9", LaSalle was killed after being shot in the abdomen and succumbing to his wounds in the hospital.