Boomers and millennials, rejoice! The JAG spin-off and syndicated cable mainstay NCIS is coming back to streaming later this month. The long-running hit show is in its 22nd season, but with the first five seasons available on Netflix starting Jan. 23, fans will be able to go back and see how the naval investigation unit has changed over all these years. Very few shows can boast more than 20 years on the air, and the evolution and expansion of the series (and the franchise it spawned) is quite an entertainment legacy.
The celebrated early seasons of the show, of course, feature silver fox Mark Harmon, who played special agent Jethro Gibbs. Harmon is nearly synonymous with the show, which has had six spin-offs beginning with Season 6. Harmon played Gibbs for 18 years and left the show as a regular in 2021, but has returned as an executive producer and narrator on the prequel series NCIS: Origins, which premiered in October 2024. He spoke to Variety about Origins and its lead-up to the seasons coming to Netflix.

“Is there a story to tell? Definitely. Is it going to be different than people know? Definitely… It’s going to be hard work, and you know there are going to be changes. You know that there will be things you can control, and things you’re going to have to fight for, and things you can’t control. Right now, it feels like we fought for every bit of it, but it feels good.”

The Procedural Perfected a Basic Formula in Its Early Seasons

NCIS carved its (alliteration warning) place in the pantheon of police procedurals alongside such greats as CSI, Criminal Minds, and Law and Order (both classic and SVU). By Season 2, the show had hit its stride with high-stakes plots, interconnected cases, and the black and white “phoof” previews at the start of the episodes, all of which have become part of the show’s formula to this day. Though viewership for the show would peak in 2011, the second season is arguably where the show defined itself and produced some of the best writing and stories of the series.
The show’s popularity has birthed NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawaiʻi, NCIS: Sydney and NCIS: Origins. The 10th episode of NCIS Season 22 airs on CBS on Jan. 27th; production on the next season has been completely halted by the tragic wildfires in Los Angeles, where the show is filmed. Season 2 of NCIS: Origins hasn’t been confirmed yet, but showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal are hopeful that CBS and Paramount are invested in the longevity of the spin-off.

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NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team forced to work together in high-stress situations. Special Agent Alden Parker, a quirky former FBI agent who solves his cases with calm professionalism and sharp, sarcastic charm, leads the NCIS team.

Network

CBS

Release Date

September 23, 2003

Creator(s)

Donald P. Bellisario
, Don McGill

Seasons

22

Showrunner

Donald P. Bellisario

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