'NCIS: New Orleans' season 3 spoilers, cast news: Wendie Malick and Vanessa Ferlito join the show; Zoe McLellan exits series

Actress Wendie Malick heads to the Big Easy to guest star in "NCIS: New Orleans" for its upcoming third season.

Malick will portray a character named Sylvia Lund who is the mother of forensic scientist Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich). Sylvia is depicted as a nurturing and overprotective mother who has a lot of similarities with her eccentric son. Even though Sebastian is already an adult and has many accomplishments in his career, she still sees him as a little boy who needs her care and affection all the time. Given her thoughtful personality, she constantly worries about her beloved son's security, health and well-being. She will be introduced in the fourth episode of the season, but what brings her to New Orleans remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, one member of Agent Pride's team will no longer be around when "NCIS: New Orleans" returns this fall. Zoe McLellan, who plays Special Agent Meredith "Merri" Brody, has officially left her post as a series regular on the CBS spin-off.

As noted by TV Line, McLellan's departure was due to a creative decision the creators had to make. The second season featured Merri involved with Homeland Security agent John Russo (Ivan Sergei), who turned out to be an extremist — putting the whole team's security in jeopardy. Now that her character has already been compromised, she will no longer be a part of the story.

Vanessa Ferlito will take McLellan's place as the new member of the team. Her character's name was not yet revealed but she is described as a sexy, no-nonsense acerbic agent who will enter the picture to investigate on Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula) and the rest of the team, following the events in season 2. She is said to be keeping secrets of her own so viewers will see if she is indeed a friend or a foe.

Catch the season 3 premiere of "NCIS: New Orleans" on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 10 p.m. on CBS.