NCIS is still going strong 22 seasons in, and it’s all thanks to a dedicated audience. The show has spawned spin-offs since it launched, but the franchise still shines through the mainline series’ initial seasons.
Netflix is streaming the first five seasons of NCIS this January, arriving on the 23rd. These include fan-favorite episodes “Requiem” (Season 5, Episode 7), “Twilight” (Season 2, Episode 23), and “Yankee White”, the Season 1 Pilot. NCIS is one of TV’s longest-running procedurals, and Mark Harmon’s Jethro Gibbs has become iconic like Lieutenant Columbo and Adrian Monk. NCIS is very accessible with its self-contained episodes and seasons, but the show’s lasting appeal is its main ensemble’s story arcs. However, anyone can jump in and watch any of the 1,000+ episodes without getting lost in the plot. Season 3’s “Kill Ari” (Episodes 1 and 2) and “Hiatus” (Episodes 23 and 24) are great introductions to budding NCIS fans.
One of Mark Harmon’s favorite NCIS moments happened behind the scenes of the show. “Just the other night we were out in Hollywood working late at night, most the cast, like 95% of the cast was working and we all got together and went to dinner,” he told Stephen Colbert in 2019. NCIS was 17 seasons in at that point, and Harmon revealed why the show has endured for so long. “I mean it happened so you got a bunch of people there who love their job and there’s a responsibility in that,” he explained. “Over a number of years you work with these people every day and it only works when people want to be there.”
Mark Harmon’s NCIS Legacy Lives On
Mark Harmon exited NCIS after 19 seasons, and the show soldiered on without its lead protagonist. Jethro Gibbs solved his final case in Season 19, Episode 4 (“Great Wide Open”), which at the time was a fitting swan song for the character. Harmon said he left the show to prioritize other creative pursuits; he still serves as an executive producer. “I love [the] cast and I love what I’m seeing on dailies and on set,” he told Parade. “I am pleased to be a part of it. I am a distant part of it really. I am just there to support and how can I help. If you need my help great. If not, that’s OK, too.”
First teased in two JAG episodes (Season 8’s “Ice Queen” and “Meltdown”), NCIS has since become a TV juggernaut. The franchise spawned five spin-offs including NCIS: Origins, which circles back to Gibb’s early years at the agency. Harmon returns as the show’s narrator, as an older Gibbs introspecting on his first years of service.
“I always paid attention to the writing room on that [Origins] creatively,” he confirmed. “It wasn’t so much a decision to leave as it was maybe just the right timing to push away a little bit. I was thrilled with the storyline they came up with and how they handled the character. And the show’s continued on. I was always of the opinion that this show would carry on, no matter who left or who joined.”
NCIS Seasons 1 to 5 hits Netflix on Jan. 23.