I’m starting to get nervous about the future of an NCIS spinoff series because of a trend sweeping the franchise. Launched in 2003 on CBS, the evolving NCIS franchise comprises eight shows, with the original having 21 seasons under its belt. Despite the longevity of the flagship series, many of the spinoffs have ended in recent years. The cancelations follow a trend shifting the nature of what NCIS presents to its audience. Following the new trend I’ve seen throughout the franchise, one series could get the ax as NCIS progresses into the future.
NCIS has an impressive track record. It recently celebrated the 1000th episode of NCIS between the flagship and its many spinoffs. However, many of the series that helped to establish the franchise’s strong past will not blaze forward into its future. Only one of the series that helped the franchise achieve its massive feat will continue in the 2024-2025 TV cycle, which boasts three NCIS series. Instead, the franchise is introducing entirely new content that is changing the future of the shared NCIS universe.
NCIS Departing From Their Location-Based Premise Makes Me Nervous For NCIS: Sydney
NCIS: Sydney Was Filmed On-Location In Sydney, Australia
I’ve seen a trend of NCIS canceling its location-based spinoff series, which makes me nervous about NCIS: Sydney’s future. The Australian-based series premiered in 2023 during the writer’s strike, which prevented CBS from producing its regular roster of fall shows. NCIS: Sydney filled a vital content need during the 2023-2024 TV cycle, which broadcasted primarily reruns. Since it was shot on location, utilizing local sites provided the series with stunning scenery. Still, the series’ focus on Sydney adheres to the NCIS franchise’s former tradition of producing spinoffs with a location-oriented premise, from which it is rapidly departing.
I can sense the series’ mixed reception, but I thought the way NCIS: Sydney utilized the local landscape and other assets to produce a series that filled a severe demand for programming was impressive. NCIS: Sydney’s relevant premise mixed American and Australian agents in Sydney Harbor, forming the AFP/NCIS Sydney Task Force. The series felt true to NCIS in its most classic form, emulating the best characteristics of Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ team from the first few NCIS seasons. That said, the Sydney-centered series emulating the original series without distinctive character connections to the NCIS flagship could be devastating.
NCIS: Sydney Is The Franchise’s Final Location-Based Spinoff
NCIS: Sydney Is The Only NCIS Spinoff That Has A Location-Oriented Premise
The most concerning element is that NCIS: Sydney is a location-based spinoff; the NCIS franchise has canceled every other location-based series it ever created. As the last one of its kind, NCIS: Sydney could face the same devastating conclusion that all other NCIS spinoff shows have encountered, ultimately facing cancelation. NCIS: Sydney ending in the next year or so would follow the trend the NCIS franchise has established, effectively closing the chapter of opening NCIS offices in new locations. That said, NCIS: Sydney has a few redeeming qualities that make me think it could stay.
Primarily, NCIS: Sydney’s most substantial assets for staying afloat are the aspects of the series that initially distinguished it from the other location-based series. For instance, NCIS: Sydney was the first location-based series, or any NCIS series for that matter, to introduce serialized storytelling. As such, every episode of NCIS: Sydney is more connected, giving viewers a more immersive, continuous experience. Additionally, NCIS: Sydney introduced an international presence and aired to a global audience. It leans into another franchise trend, highlighting NCIS offices outside the United States, like the Far East office in NCIS.
Which NCIS Location-Based Spinoff The NCIS Franchise Has Already Canceled
The Cameras Are Off At Fictional NCIS Offices Around The United States
It’s been sad to watch NCIS canceling some of their most beloved series, all with a location-oriented premise. The franchise first canceled NCIS: New Orleans in 2021, bidding the Bayou-based series farewell after seven seasons on CBS. Then, the franchise decided to pull the plug on NCIS: Los Angeles in 2023. The series was the universe’s most established location-based series, with 14 seasons. Finally, in 2024, CBS canceled NCIS: Hawai’i. The series was the newest franchise installment, only airing for only three seasons. Despite this, I think there are several reasons NCIS: Hawai’i’s cancelation was a mistake.
The cancelation of NCIS: Hawai’i before season 4 was the most surprising, as the series brought refreshing aspects to the franchise that distinguished it from other shows. Vanessa Lachey was the first female lead for the NCIS franchise and the first Asian American to lead an NCIS series. The series also centered on a relationship between two women, bringing rich diversity to the characters of NCIS: Hawai’i. NCIS would repeat a devastating mistake they made when canceling Lachey’s series if they end Sydney. NCIS: Sydney’s Special Agent Michelle Mackey is now the only female lead in the NCIS franchise.
NCIS Is Prioritizing More Nostalgic Content With NCIS: Origins And NCIS: Tony & Ziva
The NCIS Franchise Is Bringing Back Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, and Cote de Pablo
All the cancelations have favored more nostalgia-oriented content from the NCIS franchise. For instance, the franchise will replace NCIS: Hawai’i’s CBS Monday night slot with a new spinoff series called NCIS: Origins. The series will explore the backstory of Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon in the flagship series for nearly two decades. That said, NCIS: Origins cast Austin Stowell as young Gibbs, reviving the central character’s story to travel back in time, and as such, NCIS: Origins is the franchise’s first prequel series. Moreover, Origins is the first spinoff NCIS launched that doesn’t orient around location.
The NCIS franchise has one more series in the works. It, too, will disregard a location-oriented premise in favor of nostalgia and original characters. NCIS: Tony & Ziva will continue Tony and Ziva’s NCIS romance on Paramount+. The love story gradually played out in the flagship series, but it ended abruptly when Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly exited the series within a few years of each other in NCIS seasons 11 and 13, respectively. Their story continued off-screen, but NCIS: Tony & Ziva will revive the love story for a proper on-screen portrayal for viewers.
All of NCIS’ latest installments depart from the most basic premise of how the franchise created its spinoff series in the past. NCIS favored location-oriented premises, launching new NCIS offices in different parts of the US for various purposes. The franchise has made a definitive shift, favoring content that elicits nostalgia. Despite NCIS: Sydney season 2 returning in the fall, I worry about the future of the franchise’s ultimate location-based series. I hope my concern isn’t warranted, since NCIS: Sydney features innovative elements that distinguish it from past spinoffs.