Over two decades ago, CBS changed the landscape of procedurals with NCIS, a show that focused both on solving cases and on the workplace dynamics of a group of characters that fans got to know and love. More than 20 seasons and a handful of spin-offs later, the “mothership” is still going strong, even if the cast of characters looks very different than it did back when the series started in 2003. And of course, now the name NCIS is synonymous with primetime ratings dominance — as evidenced by all the hit shows that bear the same acronym!
“What makes NCIS so special and what people love about it is the characters,” NCIS: Origins co-showrunner and former NCIS writer David J. North said at the Television Critics Association press tour in July. And that has remained true no matter which characters have been part of this show. The proof is in the fact that even after major characters like Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), and Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon) departed, the show is still a fan favorite.
While details about the upcoming NCIS Season 22 are scarce, the lack of knowledge won’t stop us from asking questions — questions like when NCIS Season 22 will premiere, who is coming back for Season 22, and what the season will be about. We’ll answer all of those to the best of our ability below.
NCIS latest news
The cast has only just returned to set to film Season 22, so there’s no official synopsis for the season yet, but Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Special Agent Nick Torres, promised Season 22 would take it up a notch from what we’ve seen before. “I think it’s not going to be your casual like, ‘Oh, your favorite team is in trouble,'” Valderrama promised in an interview with People. “It’s going to be more personal, more soul-shattering. There’ll be some [tragedy] this season.”
If we add to that the uncertainty surrounding Katrina Law’s return as Jessica Knight and what her decision might mean for her relationship with Jimmy Palmer, plus the fact that SSA Alden Parker (Gary Cole) is recovering from the injuries sustained in the Season 21 finale, there’s a lot for fans to be concerned about when it comes to Season 22 of NCIS. Never let it be said that the mothership has nothing up its sleeve.
When does NCIS Season 22 premiere?
NCIS Season 22 will debut Monday, Oct. 14 at 8/7c, and the show will immediately be followed by the two-hour series premiere of prequel NCIS: Origins. NCIS will move to the 9/8c slot beginning Oct. 21. After a shorter than usual Season 21 due to the writer’s strike, Season 22 is set to have 21 episodes. Head here for a look at CBS’s complete fall schedule, including when everything premieres.
What is NCIS about?
NCIS is a military police procedural, often dubbed the “mothership” of the NCIS franchise, which includes the series NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawai’i, NCIS: Sydney, and two new series, NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Tony & Ziva. The series revolves around a team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service — which just so happens to be a real government agency. The characters and the concept were originally introduced in a pair of episodes of the CBS series JAG in 2003, before becoming its own series that fall.
As of 2024, NCIS is the third-longest-running scripted, live-action U.S. prime-time TV series currently airing, surpassed only by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order.
Who stars in NCIS?
NCIS has gone through quite a cast turnover in 21 seasons. But then again, what show going into Season 22 hasn’t? The fact that Gary Cole’s SSA Alden Parker is only the second boss the NCIS team has had is quite an accomplishment. Sean Murray’s SSA Timothy McGee and Brian Dietzen’s Chief Medical Examiner Jimmy Palmer have been around for all 21 seasons so far. The team is rounded out by Rocky Carroll’s Leon Vance, who has been with the show since Season 5, and relative newcomers Wilmer Valderrama as Special Agent Nick Torres, who joined the team in Season 14, Diona Reasonover as Chief Forensic Scientist Kasie Hines, who joined the team in Season 15, and Katrina Law as Special Agent Jessica Knight, who joined the team in Season 18. Longtime cast member David McCallum, who played Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, passed away after Season 20.
NCIS cast:
Gary Cole as Supervisory Special Agent Alden Parker
Sean Murray as NCIS Senior Special Agent Timothy McGee
Wilmer Valderrama as Special Agent Nick Torres
Katrina Law as Special Agent Jessica Knight
Brian Dietzen as Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jimmy Palmer
Diona Reasonover as Chief Forensic Scientist Kasie Hines
Rocky Carroll as NCIS Director Leon Vance
Is Katrina Law leaving NCIS?
One of the biggest questions coming into NCIS Season 22 is about the future of Special Agent Jessica Knight, who in the Season 21 finale was offered a job as the REACT team’s chief training officer. The issue? That job is at Camp Pendleton, not anywhere near the DC Offices. Fans thought Knight would declin
e the job, as she’d previously declined the opportunity to take over her father’s role as the Special Agent-in-Charge of the NCIS Far East Field Office in Yokosuka. Instead, Knight said yes. So, does that mean Katrina Law is leaving NCIS?
“We do aim to please, and we think the audience will be satisfied with where they see this go. Sometimes that satisfaction is bittersweet and sometimes it’s just pure joy. You’ll have to wait to find out which one it’s going to be,” co-showrunner Steven D. Binder told TVLine.
Law hasn’t been confirmed to be leaving NCIS and her character and Jimmy Palmer make up the only ship in the show, which fans have affectionately dubbed Knight In Shining Palmer, so chances are wherever the storyline takes Knight, she won’t be going anywhere. Or at least, we hope so.
How does NCIS Season 22 tie in to NCIS: Tony & Ziva?
With NCIS: Hawai’i cancelled in 2024, there are officially three other NCIS properties outside of the original: NCIS: Sydney, NCIS: Origins, and NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Of those three, NCIS: Sydney doesn’t have much connection to the main NCIS; it takes place on another continent, with a cast completely unrelated to the characters we know. And though the shows might end up crossing over at some point in the future, there’s nothing that ties it to the show’s main DC offices. The other two, however, are a very different story.
NCIS: Origins is a direct prequel to NCIS that traces the origins of the show’s most iconic character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs — played by Mark Harmon for 19 seasons. The show is set in 1991, shortly after the deaths of Gibbs’ first wife Shannon and daughter Kelly, and follows Gibbs as a new agent at the NCIS Camp Pendleton office. NCIS: Tony & Ziva, meanwhile, brings back two fan-favorite characters from NCIS, Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David, alongside their daughter Tali, and finds them on the run in Europe for reasons yet undisclosed. Tony and Ziva met and fell in love in NCIS and after Ziva’s supposed death and Tony learning that the two had a daughter, they reunited and have been raising their daughter Tali together.
More shows like NCIS
NCIS does have its fair share of spin-offs, both concluded and ongoing, so the best place to start is probably there, but if you’re looking for some NCIS-like action that doesn’t include those four letters, check out our list of shows like NCIS, which includes some other military dramas and thrillers.
NCIS Season 22 trailer
There’s no trailer yet, but when it is released, we’ll have it for you right here.
Where can I watch NCIS?
NCIS can be streamed on Netflix, Paramount+, and PlutoTV.