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Is NCIS Really Ending After Season 22? What It Means for Fans and Spinoffs

Is NCIS Really Ending After Season 22? What It Means for Fans and Spinoffs
Image credit: CBS

The OG series is officially old enough to drink in all 50 states.

Summary

  • The popular CBS series NCIS has been renewed for a 22nd season.
  • Not all of the NCIS offshoots have survived.
  • It's possible that this new season will be the show's last.
  • If so, there are several upcoming spinoffs that will keep the attention of fans.

NCIS Hawai'i Says 'Aloha'

After three seasons, NCIS: Hawai'i has officially stumbled to a close. Although the spinoff series averaged 7.8 million viewers per episode – pretty good for network television – those numbers didn't put it anywhere near the front of the pack for CBS.

On top of that, the Hawai'i series is comparatively expensive to film, since the lucky cast and crew was shooting on location most of the year.

Fans can relax, though – CBS may have pulled NCIS: Hawai'i, but the flagship NCIS series has officially been renewed for season 22. Still, fans are wondering… how much longer will it last?

What Do We Know?

Shows that are going really well often see renewal contracts for two or three seasons at a time. The fact that CBS has only renewed NCIS for one year may signal that the network is thinking of moving on from its flagship series.

The second clue is the fact that much of the original cast has left, including Mark Harmon's Special Agent Jethro Gibbs – the beating heart of the series for nineteen years. Most of the original cast has moved on or passed away, leaving fans with a team that is relatively new. It's rare for shows to survive past a full turnover in cast.

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On the other hand, NCIS's numbers have remained remarkably consistent over the years. While some seasons have seen a decline in viewership, the show still pulls in nearly the same number of people as it did during its peak (that would be season 10, which averaged 13.5 viewers per episode).

It's rare for a television show to last longer than two decades… but then again, it's also rare for a television show to keep such steady numbers during that time.

Prequels and Spinoffs

There is one other argument for keeping the original NCIS series on the air: the fact that it will help drum up business for its spinoffs.

NCIS: Hawai'i may have come to an abrupt end, but its Australian cousin is still standing. NCIS: Sydney has been renewed for a second season, with new episodes coming to CBS this fall.

In the meantime, the Jethro Gibbs origin story is coming to CBS in the aptly-named NCIS: Origins. Mark Harmon is reprising the role of Gibbs in voiceover, while Harmon's real-life son Sean Harmon will play a younger version of the investigator.

Fun Fact: Sean Harmon already has experience playing the younger version of his father – he appeared as Young Gibbs on seven past episodes of NCIS.

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Old Faces, New Continent

There is one more NCIS spinoff coming your way, though it will air on Paramount+ rather than CBS.

NCIS has never topped the chemistry of its first will-they-or-won't-they couple, Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David. Unfortunately Tony and Ziva only got together off-camera, something that this new series will hopefully rectify.

After years of living peacefully with their daughter in Paris, an unknown threat sends Tony and Ziva scrambling for safety across Europe. The series (currently untitled) will start filming in Budapest this summer.

Holding On To The OG?

With all of these new series coming out, it may make sense for CBS to hold on to its flagship series as long as possible. On the other hand, with so many other characters pulling focus, it's also possible that CBS will let the grandaddy series rest, so that the new generation can have a fair shot.

Season 22 of NCIS will air on CBS this fall.