As the NCIS franchise gets ready to film its 1,000th overall episode (!), the future for the long-running mothership looks as rosy as ever.
Ahead of NCIS‘ Season 21 premiere (on Monday, Feb. 12), CBS entertainment chief Amy Reisenbach told our sister site Deadline, “I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.
“It’s a fantastic cast with a fantastic writing staff that’s been there a really long time,” the exec noted. “So, as long as they want to keep it going, we’re thrilled to be on the NCIS train…. [W]e hope to continue on for quite a while.”
NCIS last TV season averaged 9.9 million total viewers (with Live+7 playback), making it not only TV’s most-watched drama, but marking the largest audience for any 2022-23 entertainment program.
CBS’ Reisenbach also promised news to come “soon” for the NCIS: Sydney fans wondering if the Australia-set offshoot, which recently aired its season finale, will get a Season 2.
Season-to-date, NCIS: Sydney has been averaging 6.6 million viewers and a 0.43 demo rating (with Live+7 playback). It stands as CBS’ most-watched entertainment program of this strange, strikes-delayed TV season, and only trails the Eye Network’s own 60 Minutes in total audience.
NCIS: Sydney also emerged as the most-watched freshman show on any network this fall.
“We’re thrilled with how NCIS: Sydney did,” Reisenbach said. “It’s not just a win for CBS but it’s really a win for all of Paramount, for Paramount+, for Paramount International….
“I feel really positive, and there will be news to come soon,” she added.
Though Reisenbach was not asked (nor volunteered anything) about NCIS: Hawai’i (which opens its third season on Feb. 12), she did share some insight on the recently greenlit NCIS: Origins, a prequel series that will follow a yet-to-be-cast, circa-1991 Leroy Jethro Gibbs (with original portrayer Mark Harmon narrating).
“NCIS: Origins is really different than any of the other NCISes,” the exec offered. “It’s a little edgier and grittier [and] it’s got a serialized element of it that we’re really excited about.”
EXCLUSIVE: Gibbs is returning to the NCIS universe as the lead of a new CBS drama, which serves as a prequel to the long-running procedural. The network has given a straight-to-series order to NCIS: Origins, about young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, for the 2024-25 broadcast season. The project comes from the two actors who have portrayed Gibbs on NCIS, Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon, veteran NCIS writers-producers, Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North, as well as CBS Studios, which is behind the NCIS franchise.
Narrated by Mark Harmon, NCIS: Origins begins in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS. In the new series, Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks. (On the mothership series, Franks has been a recurring character played by Muse Watson. Franks was fatally stabbed in Season 8 but continued to appear to Gibbs when he needed a sounding board on hard cases.)
The idea of exploring Gibbs’ early years originated with Sean Harmon, who recurred on NCIS, playing the younger version of Mark Harmon’s character in seven episodes from 2008-2020. Along with his father, who starred as Gibbs on NCIS for more than 18 seasons, Harmon approached Monreal, North and CBS Studios about expanding the NCIS universe with a Gibbs-centered offshoot.
Sean Harmon is focusing on executive producing duties for the new series alongside Mark Harmon, who continues to executive produce the flagship NCIS, as well as Monreal and North, who are co-writing the premiere episode and will serve as co-showrunners. North also will continue his duties as executive producer and co-showrunner (with Steven D Binder) on the mothership. Search will be launched for an actor to play the lead in the spinoff.
Sean Harmon in ‘NCIS’CBS
“The character of Gibbs has been an important part of my life for 20 years, both in watching my father craft the role and previously having the honor to play young Gibbs myself,” Sean Harmon said. “I always felt there was a tale worth telling about his earlier years, so I am thrilled to be stepping into a producing role alongside Gina, David and my dad as we tell this story and reveal a new side of this beloved character.”
Monreal and North, who said they are “thrilled to be bringing this new chapter to life along with Mark and Sean Harmon,” teased more revelations in the new series.
“This really is the making of Leroy Jethro Gibbs,” the duo said. “And even the most dedicated NCIS fans will discover that they don’t know the whole story.”
NCIS: Origins is taking a route that proved successful for another flagship CBS series, comedy The Big Bang Theory, which spawned a successful prequel, Young Sheldon, about the early years of one of the lead characters.
“We are elated and honored to continue the expansion of the NCIS universe in such a unique and unexpected way,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “Viewers can look forward to Mark Harmon returning to CBS to narrate the complex and mysterious backstory of Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ early years in NCIS: Origins, which will build on the rich legacy of this character while reintroducing fan-favorite characters and meeting new ones.”
This is CBS’ fourth new scripted series for the 2024-35 season, joining dramas Matlock and Watson and comedy Poppa’s House.
NCIS is one of CBS Studios’ most valuable franchises. Twenty one seasons in — currently ranking as the third-longest-running U.S. primetime drama — the mothership series remains the most watched non-sports program on broadcast. A big global seller, which once ranked as the most watched drama in the world, the venerable procedural has spawned three spinoffs in the U.S., NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans as well as NCIS: Hawai’i, which is headed to its 3rd season. The franchise recently went international with its first non-American offshoot, NCIS: Sydney, which also has done very well in the U.S. Used by CBS on its strike-impacted fall schedule, it has ranked as the most watched new series of the 2023-24 season to date.
According to Nielsen and internal data, during the 2022-2023 TV season, the NCIS franchise had over 300 million viewers around the world across all platforms including broadcast, cable, streaming and syndication.
“There’s no denying the cultural and global phenomenon of the NCIS franchise for the last 20 years,” said David Stapf, president of CBS Studios. “When Sean and Mark approached us all with this exciting expansion of the universe – exploring a young Gibbs – we knew it was the next story that needed to be told. We also couldn’t be luckier to have Gina and David at the helm as co-showrunners who are not only brilliant and adept writers but know this character and universe so well.”
NCIS: Origins reunites North and Monreal, who both wrote on NCIS for 10 years. Monreal, who left the CBS series a couple of years ago, has recently worked on Netflix’s Griselda, Star Wars: The Bad Batch and the upcoming Dan Fogleman/Sterling K. Brown project for Hulu.
Casting on the spinoff is being handled by NCIS casting directors, Jason Kennedy, Krysti Baxter, and Meredith Goble.
Mark Harmon is repped by Gersh and attorney Barry Axelrod. Sean Harmon is repped by 3Arts Entertainment, Gersh and Genow Goodman. Monreal is repped by CAA, Mosaic, and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson McGinnis Ryan. North is repped by Dan Halsted Manage-Ment.
Oscar-winning actress Linda Hunt will help LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell fight crime on the upcoming CBS drama “NCIS: Los Angeles.”
Hunt will tackle the role of a department manager who acquires crime-busting gadgetry for O’Donnell and Cool J’s team of undercover agents, says the Associated Press. The highly anticipated “NCIS” spin-off premieres this fall on CBS.
Hunt won an Academy Award for her performance in ‘The Year of Living Dangerously,’ and has appeared on TV shows such as “The Practice” and “Without a Trace.”
A great team needs a great leader. And given that OG NCIS had it’s great leader with Gibbs, NCIS LA would also need a great leader. And who better then to be that leader then a tiny woman who is much tougher then she looks?
In June of 2009, This show made the decision that would help bring it the popularity that it got over the years! Linda had just the right amount of toughness and sweetness to be Hetty, and as a result, everything felt the way it was supposed to feel. Excellent teamwork, solid writing, amazing acting, and a growing worldwide fanbase that would stick with it throughout it’s run and give it the longevity that it got.
NCIS LA’s great leader was, and will always be Hetty. No replacements!
For two decades, with three spin-off series and 33 seasons between them, the NCISfranchise has become one of the most expansive and memorable shows to air on television. Throughout that time, the series has garnered praise for its action, writing, and engaging storylines across multiple settings. However, the main reason that the series attained and sustained such popularity lies in the excellence of its characters and their stories. From the wit and humor of Agent DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) to the laid-back surfer attitude of Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) to the confident leadership of Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey), there has been such a variety of characters and personalities that make each series feel unique and each setting vibrant. It’s the standout characters that make these series so noteworthy, with figures such as Agent Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) defining what it means to be an NCIS agent. However, surpassing even dozens of other contenders, the best part of the franchise is the character you’d least expect: the mysterious and supremely capable Agent Hetty Lange (Linda Hunt) from NCIS: Los Angeles.
Hetty Is Unmatched in Leadership and Experience on ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’
Image via CBS
Viewers love a reliable leader — someone who can lead their team of special agents to incredible success through their distinct leadership styles. Though the underdog story is rewarding in its own right, it’s also quite satisfying watching people be the best at their profession. Hetty Lange is one of the premier examples of unfathomable professional success in the entire franchise. She serves as the Operations Manager of the NCIS branch in Los Angeles, leading the team with her wisdom, craft, and her unmatched experience and expertise.
Like countless other special agents in media, Hetty has a background shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Throughout the series, she is constantly calling in favors from all over the globe, with allusions to past adventures that likely would have filled another 20 seasons of a show itself. In the finale of NCIS: Los Angeles’ second season, the team investigates Hetty’s background and finds a resume as diverse as da Vinci and as intense as Jason Bourne. Through their findings they discover this smorgasbord of information on their operations manager: she speaks 10 languages fluently, has a Master of Fine Arts, is skilled in 3 martial art forms, won a Bronze Medal in a rifle event at the Olympics, is a published novelist, a pilot, a former film and stage actor, and has won countless awards and merits from multiple intelligence agencies. And that was all that they could identify at the time. In a franchise full of experienced and storied agents, Hetty is a living legend among comparably young upstarts still finding their places in the world of intelligence and defense.
Hetty Subverts Expectations in the ‘NCIS’ Franchise
Image via CBS
Though it’s quite easy to establish Hetty as the best among the best in NCIS, it’s her subversion of expectations that truly makes her the juggernaut that she is. Linda Hunt, the actress who portrays Hetty, was diagnosed with dwarfism and stands at a smaller stature of only 4’9. In stark contrast from the conventionally athletic appearances of most other NCIS agents, she stands out for both her shorter height and her older age. However, neither have been an obstacle for her character — all the other characters in the series treat her with utmost respect and, at many times, are intimidated by her mere presence. Hunt portrays Hetty with such gravity that she commands attention whenever she is in a scene.
Unlike other agents in the franchise, Hetty remained predominantly out of action due to her older age. But in the same way that her slighter physique did not hold her back from earning and holding respect, it does not hinder her effectiveness to the mission. As mentioned before, Hetty has built up a fortune of experience and connections. Countless times throughout the series, it is through her contacts and information network that the agents are able to successfully complete her mission. When their backs are against the wall, it often takes just a call from Hetty to provide an ample solution. Though Hetty had already checked off all the requirements for being a badass special agent, she continuously adds to her resume of success with each season of the series. Even when Hetty steps down from her role as Operations Manager to handle an undisclosed long-term mission in Syria, she remains an integral part of the LA-based team. Her infrequent calls to Los Angeles are treated like a hero’s return, often accompanied by vital words of wisdom or a called-in favor that rectifies an obstacle the team is facing. When Marty Deeks is unable to officially become an NCIS agent, it’s Hetty who calls in and gets him a spot in official training. Whenever G. Callen (Chris O’Donnell), Nell (Renée Felice Smith), or any of the agents seem to need some sage guidance, it is still Hetty who provides the needed wisdom to steer them in the right direction. Hetty Lange is simultaneously the peak of what viewers want in a special agent and the premier example of subverting expectations. NCIS: Los Angeles is the most successful spin-off from the original series, and Hetty plays an irreplaceable role in the show’s excellence.
The NCIS franchise has grown to become one of television’s most notable families with so many charming characters and personalities that have captured viewers hearts for 20 years. While everyone is bound to have their favorites, it is hard to argue about the narrative impact and importance of Hetty Lange. Her subversion of standard expectations of a special agent is made even more impressive by her stalwart resilience and wise leadership. Even among some of the best that cop procedurals have to offer, Hetty stands at a point even higher than the rest. As NCIS: Los Angeles nears its climactic conclusion, it’s the best time to look back and appreciate Hunt’s phenomenal work as the most special agent, Hetty Lange.
Yes, the heavily promoted 3 episode NCIS crossover aired this Monday. It had lots of callbacks, some were to old school LA, friendly sparring (IMO, which made everyone look like middle schoolers), and 1 huge surprise.
The 3rd episode ‘A Long Time Coming’, found a neat way to give fans a reasurring update on 1 particular LA team member who everyone has been waiting on pins and needles to hear more about because it’s been a long time since she’s been seen.
I present to you, the part about this whole crossover that I consider to be a miracle of sorts:
Today, back in 2009, on September 22, the 1st episode of NCIS: Los Angeles first aired on CBS, at 9pm following NCIS.
It immediately became a hit due to it’s incredible cast, great writing, and cinematic like explosions and take downs. And remarkably enough, is still running today! (even though everything that made it so great has so greatly plummeted, but that’s a complaint for another day.).
I can still remember getting excited for a new episode every Sunday (when it eventually moved there), it was really fun. Then, some uncontrollable things in life happened in the summer of 2018, and nothing has been the same since.
I may be more disgusted with it now then happy, but I still love the 1st 8 Seasons.
For those who have been waiting on bated breath waiting for some kind of info relating to Callen finding his ‘mama’ (in it’s own ways) Hetty that’s new, well, there’s finally some, in the forms of yet more teasers from the showrunners:
For those who need help trying to read this, it explains that in the Season premiere, the intel that Callen gets worries him so much, he wants to go to Syria to find her. But is unfortunately stopped by the foolish old man who is unfortunately, still hogging Hetty’s beloved office.
The info also says that Callen will also miss her quite a lot while trying to plan his wedding to Anna.
My take on all this: Look, I hate this showrunner for what he’s done to this incredible show over the past few years, and the thought of having to trust him yet again with these kind of stupid teasers (that have 99% been wrong in the last few years when they’re related to Hetty!) makes me want to retch. But, since I have no photographic or video footage as of yet of whatever Hetty is doing out there, I don’t have a choice. All I and everyone else can do is wait and see. (and also hope that through some kind of crazy luck that either a brand new photo, or new video footage of Hetty gets leaked in the next month!).
And info on the rest of the team is also included in the photo. (but I don’t really care about them right now, a missing boss on a dangerous mission is more important and interesting then knowing what the agents are doing outside of work IMO!!)
Not many people know this, but CBS’s very popular cop show franchise, NCIS, didn’t just start on it’s own, but rather, it was a spin off of another very popular show: JAG.
The 2 part backdoor pilot, ‘Ice Queen’, aired in 2003, which was during JAG’s 8th Season. That September, NCIS aired it’s 1st episode, ‘Yankee White’.
The show itself didn’t get a lot of love from critics, and it was even low rated in it’s 1st Season. But CBS stuck with it in hopes it would get popular, and overtime, it did! Syndication worldwide gave the show it’s much needed legs for it’s high ratings.
In 2009, the 2 part backdoor pilot titled ‘Legend’, which would later become ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ aired. It would go on to become the franchise’s most popular spinoff. (and would also make the best casting decision of all time with who would be the boss of the team. 😉). It also became the 1st show to get a long running syndication deal before it first aired! Clearly CBS knew that this show would be a big winner from the start.
Up until Spring 2014, the 2 NCIS’s ruled Tuesday nights. Until NCIS LA moved to Mondays at 10 pm. (which is when I first picked up the show, thanks to my mom.). It aired there for 2 Seasons before making Sundays it’s main home.
Also in 2014, the 2 part backdoor pilot for ‘NCIS: New Orleans’ aired on NCIS. This show would last 7 Seasons, but wouldn’t get the same kind of fame and glory that LA got when it came to ratings and syndication success.
In 2021, NCIS moved from it’s long standing slot on Tuesdays at 8pm to Mondays at 9 pm.
Also in 2021, the first NCIS show to premiere without a backdoor pilot, ‘NCIS: Hawaii’ started it’s run airing after NCIS. And sometime next year, the first international show in the franchise, ‘NCIS: Sydney’ is set to premiere in Australia.
One more cool fact: JAG didn’t start off as a CBS show, it started off on NBC! CBS picked it up after NBC nixed it after it’s 1st Season.
Think of that. This whole franchise exists the way it does now, because of a network picking up a cancelled show from another network! That’s what I call really amazing.
Today, back in 2009, on September 22, the 1st episode of NCIS: Los Angeles first aired on CBS, at 9pm following NCIS.
