After becoming the original JAG spin-off in 2003, NCIS has become one of the longest-running TV spin-offs in history, only trailing shows like Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Centered on the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Washington, D.C., the show’s core investigative unit (the Major Case Response Team) is tasked with digging into crimes tied back to the United States Navy and Marine Corps, including espionage, terrorism, and, most often, murder. While this series has led to half a dozen spin-offs, including two that are still running and another premiering later this year, the original outing is now confirmed to go into its 24th season on TV. Over the years, NCIS has gone through more than its fair share of cast changes after initially beginning with Mark Harmon (Leroy Jethro Gibbs), Sasha Alexander (Caitlin Todd), Michael Weatherly (Tony DiNozzo), Pauley Perrette (Abby Sciuto), and David McCallum (Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard). None of these original cast members are still part of the show, with McCallum being the most recent to depart after his death in 2023. Now, as NCIS marches towards its potential silver anniversary on the air, there may be even more cast changes on the way. Speaking with People at the 2026 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, NCIS star Wilmer Valderrama teased some of what to expect in Season 24. Specifically, he spoke on the show’s crew listening to what “you as fans want to see us do” and paying attention to what the fans “want to really experience on the show.” Speculating about what’s coming, including his own fate as Special Agent Nick Torres, he also hinted that there may be “a major shake-up happening” in Season 24’s first episode and that there will be “some major changes” and “some major additions” in 2026:
“Look, every couple of years, you guys know ‘NCIS’ has to make sure you’re watching. So we shake up the TV a little bit and we listen. And we listen to where you as fans want to see us do. So we always really pay attention to what our fans want to really experience on the show. So if you ask me to speculate, I think there’s a major shake-up happening and that Episode 1 is going to bring both…I don’t want to get in trouble for this one. Let me get in trouble. How about this? Next season, there’s some major changes and there are some major additions. What does that mean for Torres? I can only hope that he makes it out alive.”

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At the end of NCIS Season 23, massive drama unfolded as Valderrama’s Nick Torres engaged in an armed stand-off with Patrick Keleher’s Mateo McGee, the newly introduced teenage son of Sean Murray’s Senior Field Agent Timothy McGee. At the end of this moment, a gunshot is heard in an alleyway, but viewers are in the dark on whether Mateo McGee or Nick Torres fired the shot. Considering McGee’s sudden infusion into Season 23, his relationship with his father will surely be a key storyline to follow, especially if he is revealed to have shot Torres. While both of their lives hang in the balance, questions are already being asked about what the makeup of the show will look like in the late 2020s.

NCIS Season 24 is expected to begin airing on CBS in October 2026.

Release Date

September 23, 2003

Network

CBS

Showrunner

Donald P. Bellisario

Directors

Dennis Smith, Terrence O’Hara, Tony Wharmby, James Whitmore Jr., Thomas J. Wright, Michael Zinberg, Arvin Brown, Rocky Carroll, Diana Valentine, Leslie Libman, Tawnia McKiernan, Colin Bucksey, William Webb, Bethany Rooney, Alrick Riley, Jeff Woolnough, Alan J. Levi, Lionel Coleman, Martha Mitchell, Peter Ellis, Michael Weatherly, Edward Ornelas, Stephen Cragg, Tom Wright

Writers

George Schenck, Frank Cardea, Jesse Stern, John C. Kelley, Jennifer Corbett, Christopher Silber, Reed Steiner, Nicole Mirante-Matthews, Jack Bernstein, Scott J. Jarrett, Matthew R. Jarrett, Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Don McGill, Gil Grant, Frank Military, Nell Scovell, Steven Kriozere, Brian Dietzen, Kate Torgovnick May, Jeff Vlaming, Sydney Mitchel, Katie White, Richard C. Arthur, Laurence Walsh

Sean Murray

Timothy McGee

david mccallum

Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard