The CBS franchise’s season premieres were postponed due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes. Fans of NCIS can now finally celebrate as CBS has revealed the dates of the upcoming seasons of several of the major shows in their repertoire. This February, the flagship NCIS series and its spin-off, NCIS: Hawaii, will return to network TV following months of delays brought on by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes.
On February 12, 2024, the third season of NCIS: Hawaii and the 21st season of NCIS will debut. The third season will air at 10 PM, while the 21st season will air at 9 PM.
The announcement was shared on their official NCISverse Instagram page, with a caption that read: “The countdown starts NOW — #NCIS Season 21 and #NCISHawaii Season 3 premiere February 12 on @cbstv. We can’t wait to see you there!”
Fans were ecstatic to see their favorite crime procedural drama return to their screens once again, leaving comments like: “FINALLY we will have the best show on tv back,” and: “I need an advent calendar for NCIS countdown,” plus: “Woohoo! Although still hard to wait.”
Stars Gary Cole, Wilmer Valderrama, Brian Dietzen, Sean Murray, and others will be making a comeback to NCIS, while Vanessa Lachey, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Alex Tarrant, Tori Anderson, and others will continue to lead NCIS: Hawai’i.
Though network TV dramas like NCIS are scheduled to resume production, a 13-episode season may still air because the writers’ strike ended in September, giving showrunners little more time to get back into the writing booth.
The announcement puts several fans at ease, however, as they expected shows to potentially be pushed all the way to the following fall TV season aka September 2024, to allow for longer season runs.
Poignantly, this is the first season of the franchise to not feature David McCallum as the beloved Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, who passed away on September 25 at the age of 90.
It is expected that his character will receive a send-off in some grand fashion on the new season, although details as such have not been revealed. Many fans also speculate that former fan favorite cast members like Mark Harmon, Pauley Perrette, Michael Weatherly, and more might return for a tribute episode.
NCIS: Sydney, the program’s first-ever international spin-off, made its premiere in Australia on November 10 and will eventually stream onParamount+ Global and in the United States on November 14.
The cast of the fourth NCIS spin-off, Sydney, will be led by Olivia Swann as NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey and Todd Lasance as Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey (following Los Angeles, New Orleans, and the returning Hawai’i).
Joining them are Sean Sagar as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson, Tuuli Narkle as AFP Liaison Officer Constable Evie Cooper, William McInnes as AFP Forensic Pathologist Dr Roy Penrose, and Mavournee as AFP Forensic Scientist Bluebird ‘Blue’ Gleeson.