NCIS is an American television drama that has aired on CBS since September 23, 2003. This was a spin-off series of JAG. The series was originally a backdoor pilot of The program and its characters are introduced during the eighth season of JAG. The JAG episodes, "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown", served as pilot episodes for the show.
The plot for NCIS, revolves around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service combining elements of the military drama and police procedural genres. The concept and characters were initially introduced in two episodes of the CBS series JAG (season eight episodes 20 and 21: "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown"). A spin-off from JAG, the series premiered on September 23, 2003, on CBS. To date it has entered into the twentieth full season and has gone into broadcast syndication on the USA Network. Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill are co-creators and executive producers of the premiere member of the NCIS franchise.
The series originally had the partly redundant title Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service; this was later shortened to NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service and then to NCIS. In season six, a two-part episode led to a spin-off series, NCIS: Los Angeles. A two-part episode during the eleventh season led to a second spin-off series, NCIS: New Orleans. Though initially slow in the ratings, barely cracking the Top 30 in the first two seasons, the third season showed progress, consistently ranking in the top 20, and by its sixth season, it became a top-five hit, having remained there since. In 2011, NCIS was voted America's favorite television show in an online Harris Poll. The series finished its tenth season as the most-watched television series in the U.S. during the 2012–13 network television season. On April 15, 2021, NCIS was renewed for a nineteenth season, which premiered on September 20, 2021, with its next spin-off, NCIS: Hawaiʻi. On March 31, 2022, NCIS was renewed for a twentieth season, which premiered on September 19, 2022.
The series has spawned two spin-off series, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans and NCIS: Hawaiʻi.
Synopsis[]
Set in Washington, D.C., "NCIS" is about a special unit of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that catches wrongdoers with Navy or Marine Corps ties.
Cast[]
- Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs
- Michael Weatherly as Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo (Season 1-13)
- Pauley Perrette as Abby Sciuto (Season 1-15)
- Sean Murray as Timothy McGee (Season 2-current, recurring season 1)
- David McCallum as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard
- Cote de Pablo as Ziva David (Seasons 3-11)
- Emily Wickersham as Ellie Bishop (Seasons 11-current)
- Rocky Carroll as Director Leon Vance (Season 6-current, recurring season 5)
- Lauren Holly as Director Jenny Shepard (Seasons 3-5)
- Sasha Alexander as Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Seasons 1-2)
- Brian Dietzen as Jimmy Palmer (Season 10-current, recurring season 2-9)
- Wilmer Valderrama as Nicolas "Nick" Torres (Season 14-current)
- Jennifer Esposito as Alexandra Quinn (Season 14)
- Duane Henry as Clayton Reeves (Season 14-15)
- Maria Bello as Jacqueline "Jackie" Sloane (Season 15.4-current)
Seasons overview[]
| Season | Episodes | First air date | Last air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intro | 2 | April 22, 2003 | April 29, 2003 | |
| 1 | 23 | September 23, 2003 | May 25, 2004 | |
| 2 | 23 | September 28, 2004 | May 24, 2005 | |
| 3 | 24 | September 20, 2005 | May 16, 2006 | |
| 4 | 25 | September 19, 2006 | May 22, 2007 | |
| 5 | 19 | September 25, 2007 | May 20, 2008 | |
| 6 | 22 | September 23, 2008 | May 19, 2009 | |
| 7 | 24 | September 22, 2009 | May 25, 2010 | |
| 8 | 24 | September 21, 2010 | May 17, 2011 | |
| 9 | 24 | September 20, 2011 | May 15, 2012 | |
| 10 | 24 | September 25, 2012 | May 14, 2013 | |
| 11 | 24 | September 24, 2013 | May 13, 2014 | |
| 12 | 24 | September 23, 2014 | May 12, 2015 | |
| 13 | 24 | September 22, 2015 | May 17, 2016 | |
| 14 | 24 | September 20, 2016 | May 16, 2017 | |
| 15 | 24 | September 26, 2017 | May 22, 2018 | |
| 16 | 24 | September 25, 2018 | May 21, 2019 | |
| 17 | 20 | September 24, 2019 | April 14, 2020 | |
| 18 | 16 | November 17, 2020 | May 25, 2021 | |
| 19 | 21 | September 20, 2021 | May 23, 2022 | |
| 20 | 20 | September 19, 2022 | May 22, 2023 | |
| 21 | 10 | February 12, 2024 | May 6, 2024 | |
Production[]
Name[]
Prior to 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 name Navy 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, to:
- Attract new viewers (particularly those of JAG), who might not know the NCIS abbreviation
- Distinguish between NCIS and the similarly themed and similarly spelled CBS series CSI 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.)
Development[]
In 2011, NCIS was voted America's favorite television show in an online Harris Poll. NCIS finished its tenth season as the most-watched television series in the U.S. during the 2012–13 network television season. Diona Reasonover joined the main cast in season sixteen, following the departures of Duane Henry and Pauley Perrette. NCIS was renewed for a seventeenth season on April 11, 2019, which premiered on September 24, 2019, and for an eighteenth season in May 2020. The season premiered on November 17, 2020.
Flair[]
From the season-two episode "Lt. Jane Doe" onwards, the series began showing two-second-long black-and-white clips. These clips 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 by commercials. In the season-three premiere, "Kill Ari (Part I)", a freeze-frame shot was also used with the very end of most episodes turned into a freeze frame, as well.
Crew changes[]
It was reported in May 2007 that Donald P. Bellisario would be stepping down from the show. Due to a disagreement with series star Mark Harmon, Bellisario's duties as showrunner/head writer were to be given to long-time show collaborators, including co-executive producer Chas. Floyd Johnson and Shane Brennan, with Bellisario retaining his title as executive producer. In fall 2009, Gary Glasberg joined the crew and became the new "day-to-day" runner of NCIS because Shane Brennan had to focus on his new show, the spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles. On September 28, 2016, Glasberg died in his sleep at the age of 50.
Reception[]
Ratings[]
| Season | Episodes | Timeslot (EST) | Original airing | Live television ratings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | TV season | Viewers (in millions) |
Rank (viewers) |
Key demographics (18–49) | ||||
| 1st | 23 | Tuesday 8:00 PM | September 23, 2003 | May 25, 2004 | 2003–04 | 11.84 | 26th | N/A | |
| 2nd | 23 | September 28, 2004 | May 24, 2005 | 2004–05 | 13.57 | 22nd | N/A | ||
| 3rd | 24 | September 20, 2005 | May 16, 2006 | 2005–06 | 15.27 | 16th | N/A | ||
| 4th | 24 | September 19, 2006 | May 22, 2007 | 2006–07 | 14.54 | 20th | N/A | ||
| 5th | 19 | September 25, 2007 | May 20, 2008 | 2007–08 | 14.41 | 14th | N/A | ||
| 6th | 25 | September 23, 2008 | May 19, 2009 | 2008–09 | 17.77 | 5th | N/A | ||
| 7th | 24 | September 22, 2009 | May 25, 2010 | 2009–10 | 19.33 | 4th | 4.1 | ||
| 8th | 24 | September 21, 2010 | May 17, 2011 | 2010–11 | 19.46 | 5th | 4.1 | ||
| 9th | 24 | September 20, 2011 | May 15, 2012 | 2011–12 | 19.49 | 3rd | 4.01 | ||
| 10th | 24 | September 25, 2012 | May 14, 2013 | 2012–13 | 21.34 | 1st | 4.0 | ||
| 11th | 24 | September 24, 2013 | May 13, 2014 | 2013–14 | 19.77 | 3rd | 3.3 | ||
| 12th | 24 | September 23, 2014 | May 12, 2015 | 2014–15 | 18.25 | 3rd | |||
| 13th | 24 | September 22, 2015 | May 17, 2016 | 2015–16 | 16.61 | 3rd | 2.2 | ||
| 14th | 24 | September 20, 2016 | May 16, 2017 | 2016–17 | 14.63 | 3rd | TBA | ||
| 15th | 24 | September 26, 2017 | May 22, 2018 | 2017–18 | 17.02 | 5th | 2.2 | ||
| 16th | 24 | September 25, 2018 | May 21, 2019 | 2018-19 | 15.57 | 3rd | 1.9 | ||
| 17th | 20 | September 24, 2019 | April 14, 2020 | 2019-20 | 15.33 | 2nd | 1.7 | ||
| 18th | 16 | November 17, 2020 | May 25, 2021 | 2020-21 | |||||
| 19th | 21 | Monday 9:00 PM | September 20, 2021 | May 23, 2022 | 2021-22 | ||||
| 20th | 22 | September 19, 2022 | May 22, 2023 | 2022-23 | |||||
| 21st | 10 | February 12, 2024 | May 6, 2024 | 2023-24 | |||||
| 22nd | 20 | October 14, 2024 | May 5, 2025 | 2023-24 | |||||
Awards and Achievements[]
Throughout its run, "NCIS" has received many awards and nominations since it premiered on September 23, 2003 including the ALMA Awards, ASCAP Awards, BMI Film & TV Awards, Emmy Awards and the People's Choice Awards.
External links[]
- NCIS Database on Fandom
- NCIS on Facebook
- NCIS on Wikipedia
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