The series originally had the partly redundant titleNavy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service; this was later shortened toNCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service and then toNCIS. In season six, atwo-part episode led to a spin-off series,NCIS: Los Angeles. Anothertwo-part episode, during the 11th season, led to a second spin-off series,NCIS: New Orleans.
Though reception was initially tepid, with ratings barely cracking the top 30 during the first two seasons, the third season showed progress and consistently ranked in the top 20. In 2011,NCIS was voted "America's favorite television show" in an onlineHarris Poll. At the end of its 10th season, it was the most-watched television series in the U.S. during the2012–13 network television season.NCIS also surpassedGunsmoke's record for longest-running scripted primetime television series to air on CBS.
On January 5, 2024, it was announced that the prequel,NCIS: Origins, will be aired during the2024–25 season, as another spin-off series;[3] a second spin-off,NCIS: Tony & Ziva, was announced on February 28, 2024, as a series exclusive toParamount+.[4][5] On April 9, 2024,NCIS was renewed for a22nd season,[6] which premiered on October 14, 2024. In February 2025, it was renewed forseason 23, which premiered on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.[7][8]
NCIS details the experiences and stories of a team ofspecial agents working for theNCIS. The team, called the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) primarily responds to high-visibility crimes; NCIS is the main federal law enforcement agency of theUnited States Department of the Navy, investigating criminal activities (e.g. deaths, force protection, treason, etc.) related to theUnited States Navy andMarine Corps (USMC), and their associated branches of government.
In the series, the NCIS is based at theWashington Navy Yard inWashington, D.C., where it was previously led by Supervisory Special AgentLeroy Jethro Gibbs, a former USMCGunnery Sergeant/Scout Sniper and a skilled investigator, until his suspension late in season 18. Supervisory Special AgentAlden Parker (a former FBI special agent) now leads the team, following his appointment early in season 19.
Rocky Carroll recurs onNCIS: Los Angeles as hisNCIS character Director Leon Vance, while Pauley Perrette has appeared twice as Abby, andMichael Weatherly has appeared once as Anthony DiNozzo.NCIS guest stars reprising roles between series includeDavid Dayan Fisher as CIA Officer Trent Kort, in the season finale ofNCIS: Los Angeles, andKelly Hu as Lee Wuan Kai inNCIS: Los Angeles and later in an episode ofNCIS.
John M. Jackson has appeared onNCIS: Los Angeles as hisJAG character Admiral A. J. Chegwidden, while this series has also crossed over withHawaii Five-0 andScorpion.
Rocky Carroll recurs as Director Leon Vance, whileNCIS series regulars Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, Sean Murray, Emily Wickersham, Wilmer Valderrama, David McCallum, and Brian Dietzen have all appeared as theirNCIS characters.NCIS recurring cast membersMeredith Eaton,Joe Spano,Diane Neal, andLeslie Hope have all guest-starred onNCIS: New Orleans.
The showNCIS: Hawaiʻi is a spin-off of the seriesNCIS and the fourth series in theNCIS franchise. It stars Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant, the Special Agent in Charge of a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service based in Hawaiʻi.
NCIS: Origins is an American television series, and the sixth installment in theNCIS franchise. It is a prequel to the original series, starting in 1991, and focusing on the early investigative career of the show's original protagonist Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Before the launch of the first season, advertisements on CBS identified the show as "Naval CIS". By the time of the launch of the first episode,NCIS was airing under the nameNavy NCIS, the name it held for the entire first season. Since the "N" in NCIS stands for "Naval", the name "Navy NCIS" was redundant. The decision to use this name was reportedly made by CBS, over the objections of Bellisario,[10] who preferred the old title because he felt it would:
Attract new viewers (particularly those ofJAG), who might not know the NCIS abbreviation
Distinguish betweenNCIS and the similarly themed and similarly spelled CBS seriesCSI and its spinoffs. (The original title, for instance, was often misquoted and parodied as "Navy CSI", something the show itself referenced in the first episode).[11]
In 2011,NCIS was voted America's favorite television show in an online Harris poll.[12]NCIS finished its 10th season as the most-watched television series in the U.S. during the2012–13 network television season.[13]Diona Reasonover joined the main cast inseason 16,[14] following the departures ofDuane Henry andPauley Perrette.[15]NCIS was renewed for a seventeenth season on April 11, 2019,[16] which premiered on September 24, 2019,[17] and for an eighteenth season in May 2020. The season premiered on November 17, 2020.[18]
On January 8, 2025, it was announced thatNCIS would suspend production due to thewildfires in theSouthern California region, where the show is filmed.[19] Production was resumed January 13.[20]
From the season two episode "Lt. Jane Doe" onwards, the series began showing two-second-long black-and-white clips. These clips (called "phoofs")[21] are shown at the beginning of every segment depicting the last two seconds of that segment, a segment being the five or six portions of the show meant to be separated bycommercials. Additionally, starting with the season three premiere, "Kill Ari (Part I)," afreeze-frame shot was also used at the very end of most episodes as well.
It was reported in May 2007 thatDonald P. Bellisario would be stepping down from the show.[22] Due to a disagreement with series star Mark Harmon, Bellisario's duties asshowrunner/head writer were to be given to long-time show collaborators, including co-executive producer Chas. Floyd Johnson andShane Brennan, with Bellisario retaining his title as executive producer.[23] In fall 2009,[clarification needed]Gary Glasberg joined the crew and became the new "day-to-day" runner ofNCIS because Shane Brennan had to focus on his new show, the spin-offNCIS: Los Angeles.[24] On September 28, 2016, Glasberg died in his sleep at the age of 50.[25][26]
The first 20 seasons ofNCIS have been released in Regions 1, 2, and 4. In Germany (Region 2), seasons 1–4 and 5–8 were released in two separate sets for each season. The first-season DVD omits the two introductory episodes from season eight ofJAG, though they are featured on theJAG season eight DVD.
In 2010,CBS Interactive andGameHouse released a mobile video game,NCIS: The Game for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and BREW/J2ME. The game features five different cases written by the show's writers.[39]
On November 1, 2011,Ubisoft released a video game adaption ofNCIS for the PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. A Nintendo 3DS version was released on March 6, 2012. The video game was deemed as a mockery of the show by reviewers and players alike, and received a 2/10 rating on GameSpot.[40]
In the UK, certainNCIS multi-part episodes were edited together to make a combined feature and shown onChannel 5,5USA,CBS Action andFox UK. These include:
CBS Records released the show's firstsoundtrack on February 10, 2009.[57]The Official TV Soundtrack is a two-disc, 22-track set that includes brand new songs from top artists featured prominently in upcoming episodes of the series, as well as the show's original theme by Numeriklab[58] (available commercially for the first time) and a remix of the theme byMinistry. The set also includes songs performed by series regulars Pauley Perrette and Coté de Pablo.
A sequel to the soundtrack was released on November 3, 2009.NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack; Vol. 2 is a single-disc, 12-track set that covers songs (many previously unreleased) featured throughout the seventh season of the show, including one recording titled "Bitter and Blue" by Weatherly, as well as two songs used in previous seasons.
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) ofNCIS. Each American network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of Maysweeps.
Since season 7,NCIS has been the most watched scripted show on American television; in the 2012–13 season it was the most watched program of the past year, surpassing bothAmerican Idol andNBC Sunday Night Football, which had ranked above it the previous three seasons.
On January 15, 2013,NCIS surpassed its previous series high in viewers, with the season ten episode "Shiva" attracting 22.86 million viewers.[60]
In November 2008, it was reported that a first spin-off series set in Los Angeles would be introduced with a two-part backdoor pilot during thesixth season ofNCIS. The episode title "Legend (Part I)" and "Legend (Part II)", airing on April 28, 2009, and May 5, 2009.[92][93][94] In May 2009, CBS picked up anNCIS spin-off series with the titleNCIS: Los Angeles.[95]
The series starsChris O'Donnell as Special AgentG. Callen,[96]LL Cool J as Special AgentSam Hanna,[96][97]Louise Lombard as Special Agent Lara Macy,Peter Cambor as Operational Psychologist Nate Getz, andDaniela Ruah as Special Agent Kensi Blye.[98][99] Following the official pick-up byCBS, it was confirmed that Lombard would not continue her role as Special Agent Lara Macy.[100]Linda Hunt and Adam Jamal Craig were added the cast as OSP Manager Henrietta Lange and Special Agent Dom Vail respectively.[101] Craig, would not be returning for second season and was replaced byEric Christian Olsen asMarty Deeks promoted to series regular.[102]
NCIS: Los Angeles was created by Shane Brennan. In April 2011,NCIS creator Donald Bellisario sued CBS overNCIS: Los Angeles because of his contract which gave him "first opportunity" to develop a spin-off or sequel;[107] the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in June 2012. However, discussions continued between CBS and Bellisario, and in January 2013 the dispute was settled outside of court a week before it was set to go to trial; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed but were described as being amicable.[108][109][110]
In September 2013, it was reported that a second spin-off series set in New Orleans would be introduced with a two-part backdoor pilot during the eleventh season ofNCIS. The episode title "Crescent City (Part I)" and "Crescent City (Part II)". The episodes were filmed in February 2014, and aired on March 25, 2014, and April 1, 2014.NCIS star Mark Harmon and showrunner Gary Glasberg are the executive producers of the series.[111] Glasberg discussed the idea of the episode with Harmon, who said "That's more than asweeps episode"[112] (meaning an episode with provocative subject manner and top appeal for television ratings). The premise for the episodes are, according to Glasberg, "all about this tiny little NCIS office that's down [in New Orleans], and the kind of cases that they come across".[113] In May 2014, CBS picked up anNCIS second spin-off series with the titleNCIS: New Orleans.[114]
NCIS andNCIS: New Orleans have had two crossovers.
"Sister City" (season 13): Abby's brother is suspected of poisoning the passengers and crew of a private plane flying from New Orleans to Washington, D.C.
"Pandora's Box" (season 14): A theoretical terror playbook is stolen and put up for auction on the black market when Abby's homeland security think tank is compromised.
On February 16, 2021, it was reported that a spin-off set in Hawaii was in the works fromNCIS: New Orleans executive producersChristopher Silber and Jan Nash.[121] On April 23, 2021, it was announced that CBS had given the production a straight-to-series order to the spin-off, and intended to include the franchise's first female lead character.[122] The show debuted onCBS on September 20, 2021, withVanessa Lachey in the leading role. It was canceled after 3 seasons, with its final episode airing on May 6, 2024.[123]
On February 16, 2022, it was reported that a spin-off set inSydney, Australia, was in the works.NCIS: Los Angeles producerShane Brennan will be attached to the project. The series will be the first international spin-off for theNCIS franchise and will feature local Australian actors and producers. It was released in Australia onParamount+ from November 10, 2023, and later debuted onNetwork 10 in mid-2024.[124][125][126] It also aired onCBS in the United States from November 14, 2023, as a result of the suspension of otherNCIS productions due to the2023 Hollywood labor disputes, and will be available for streaming in selected territories internationally onParamount+.[127][128]
On January 5, 2024, it was announced that a spin-off and prequel series based onLeroy Jethro Gibbs's early days as an NCIS agent was in the works. Mark Harmon is set to reprise his role as Gibbs in a narrator role.[130] The series premiered on October 14, 2024.[3] In March 2024, it was announced thatAustin Stowell will be cast in the role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs.[131]
On February 28, 2024, it was announced that Paramount+ had ordered another spin-off ofNCIS of 10 episodes focusing on Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo's characters Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David.[132] On May 7, 2024, the title was confirmed asNCIS: Tony & Ziva. It is set to debut in the fall of 2025.
Carter, Bill. "Behind a Quiet Little Hit, a Reliable Hit Maker."New York Times October 25, 2005, Vol. 155 Issue 53378, pE1-E7 about Donald P. Bellisario.
Coyne, Kate. "Mark Harmon: Built to Last"People April 3, 2019, Vol. 91 Issue 10, p40-46
Gallagher, Thomas. "Sins of the Father: NCIS and the Family at Work."Journal of Popular Culture 49.4 (2016): 875–896.
Hust, Stacey J.T., et al. "Law & Order, CSI, and NCIS: The association between exposure to crime drama franchises, rape myth acceptance, and sexual consent negotiation among college students."Journal of Health Communication 20.12 (2015): 1369–1381.
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