A spin-off from JAG, NCIS is a police procedural series that premiered on the CBS network on September 23, 2003. To date, the series has had nineteen seasons with 435 episodes.
The makers introduced the concept and characters of NCIS in two episodes of JAG. Don McGill and Donald P. Bellisario co-created NCIS and are the show’s executive producers.
NCIS is the third-longest-running scripted primetime series, after Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order, and the seventh-longest-running scripted primetime series across all genres.
Cast
The series has an ensemble cast of actors like Mark Harmon, Sasha Alexander, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, and Sean Murray.
The other actors on the show are Cote de Pablo, Lauren Holly, Rocky Carroll, Brian Dietzen, Emily Wickersham, Wilmer Valderrama, Jennifer Esposito, Duane Henry, Maria Bello, Diona Reasonover, Katrina Law, and Gary Cole.
Overview
The story of NCIS revolves around a fictional team of special agents based in Washington, D.C. The special agent team belongs to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
The series combines elements of police procedures and military drama.
A two-part episode titled ‘Legend’ in season six served as a backdoor pilot to the spin-off series ‘NCIS: Los Angeles.’ In season eleven, another two-part episode titled ‘Crescent City’ led to another spin-off, ‘NCIS: New Orleans.’
Media Franchise
The success of NCIS has birthed three spin-offs, with a fourth spin-off in the making.
The first two spin-offs have been NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans, respectively. The third one, ‘NCIS: Hawaii,’ premiered in September 2021.
A fourth spin-off titled ‘NCIS: Sydney’ will premiere sometime in 2023.
Reception
The series was initially slow to gain ratings. It barely managed to get into the Top 30 shows on TV during its initial two seasons.
After the initial two seasons, the show made it to the Top 20 in season three. The show received massive ratings, and by season six, it became a Top 5 hit TV show. The show has managed to stay in the top five ever since.
CBS renewed NCIS for a twentieth season in March 2022.
Accolades
According to an online Harris Poll conducted in 2011, NCIS has been named America’s favorite television show.
NCIS has received several awards and nominations since its premiere in September 2003.
The series received nominations for the ALMA Awards, the ASCAP Awards, the BMI Film & TV Awards, California on Location Awards, the Emmy Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Imagen Foundation Awards, the NAACP Image Awards, the People’s Choice Awards, the Visual Effects Society Awards, and the Young Artist Awards.
Cote de Pablo won the favorite lead actress at the ALMA Awards. NCIS won the Top TV Series at the ASCAP Awards in 2004 and continuously from 2006 to 2012.
It won the BMI TV Music Award in 2005, 2008, and 2009.
Actress Cote de Pablo won two awards for her role as NCIS special agent Ziva David at the 2008 and 2011 Imagen Foundation Awards.
For his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Mark Harmon won the Favorite TV Crime Drama Actor award at the People’s Choice Awards in 2017.