Hail, hail, the gang's all here! The NCIS: Los Angeles cast is back in action.

Eric Christian Olsen (Deeks) and Daniela Ruah (Kensi) spent eight days filing extra footage to cover the actress' impending maternity to leave, but as of Tuesday, the rest of the NCIS: LA squad was back on set. Filming for the premiere has begun under the direction of Terrence O'Hara ("Matryoshka: Part 2," "Command & Control"), and it looks as if the OSP team will open season 8 from overseas.

Photos from the cast and crew place Deeks, Kensi, Sam (LL Cool J), and Callen (Chris O'Donnell) in a mountainous desert, one that is reminiscent of the locations used for former Afghanistan storylines. Along with the remains of the Wicked Witch of the East, Ruah can be seen taking a break in her fatigues, back resting against a Navy chopper. You can barely see the star's baby bump from this angle, and the CBS production might use the desert climes as an excuse to hide Ruah's pregnancy under multiple layers (it worked like a charm in season 5, after all). Scroll through the photos below to go behind the scenes with executive producer John Peter Kousakis, Renee Felice Smith (Nell), and he rest of the cast!

 3 + 5 = 8 #SEASON8 #NCISLA #welcomebackkotter

A photo posted by @reneefelicesmith on Jul 18, 2016 at 3:04pm PDT