CBS confirmed the release date schedule for NCIS and NCIS: Origins.
The long-running military police procedural is set to return to TV screens across America in just a matter of weeks, expanding the world of the NCIS franchise beyond just the mainline series.
After over 20 years on the air, NCIS has spawned seven spin-offs (three of which are still ongoing), including a new one set to debut this fall TV season.
When Does NCIS Return in 2024?
Fans finally know when new seasons of NCIS and NCIS: Origins will be released.
The pair of series will premiere in a three-hour block on Monday, October 14.
NCIS returns for its 22nd season on CBS at 8 p.m. ET, debuting with a typical one-hour premiere for the long-running crime drama.
Following that, the brand-new NCIS spin-off, NCIS: Origins, will make its grand introduction (starting at 9 p.m. ET) with an epic two-hour premiere episode.
Fans can expect both shows to continue on the network every Monday at 8 and 9 p.m. ET timeslot, running well into the new year, as typical of NCIS and its various spin-offs.
Meanwhile, the franchise's Australian-based series, NCIS: Sydney, remains without an official release date after its debut season ran from November to December 2023.
CBS confirmed NCIS: Sydney Season 2, but it is not expected to debut during this upcoming fall TV season.
NCIS
NCIS is the series that kicked it all off for the franchise in September 2003.
The show follows the exploits of a team of special agents who work as part of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (hence where the show gets its iconic abbreviation).
Across the series' 21 seasons up to this point, this has played out with weekly cases for the show's central major crimes unit to solve, ranging from small street-level crimes to major globe-trotting geopolitical events.
When NCIS returns for Season 22, it will miss a couple of big names. Season 21 saw longtime NCIS character, Special Agent Jessica Knight (played by Katrina Law), potentially exit the series after more than 50 episodes of on-screen appearances.
After years of working on the series' central NCIS response team, Law's character was promoted to join the renowned REACT squad, putting her TV special agent on a path outside of the show's typical purview.
Law is not the first actor to depart from NCIS over the years, but she is the latest, so her name will be at the top of fans' minds heading into the brand-new season.
NCIS: Origins
Further expanding the world of NCIS this fall will be the brand-new spin-off series NCIS: Origins.
The latest addition to the NCIS franchise will tread new ground for the TV mainstay, jumping back in time to recount the beginnings of Mark Harmon's Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Fans may recognize Gibbs' name from the first 19 seasons of NCIS proper, where he led the NCIS team as the Supervisory Special Agent and Special Agent in Charge.
Origins, though, will follow the beloved TV character in his early years as he begins his time at NCIS Camp Pendleton.
Austin Stowell will take on the series' central role after Mark Harmon played the character for almost 20 years on NCIS. This will offer fans a look back at where many of the show's iconic characters came from rather than a look ahead at where they are going.
NCIS: Sydney
Before Origins, NCIS: Sydney was the latest spin-off of the fan-favorite TV crime series.
Sydney is just the latest in the franchise's city-specific off-shoots, following in the footsteps of NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, and NCIS: Hawaii.
The series marked the first time NCIS departed the continent permanently. It focused on an NCIS team stationed in Syndey, Australia, working with local law enforcement to bring criminals to justice. Season 1 of NCIS: Sydney debuted in November 2023 and ran for eight episodes.
CBS officially greenlit a second season (via ScreenHub), but a release date remains in question.
Last fans heard, the series was headed to Darwin to film in July 2024; a release either sometime this fall (although if it were coming, it likely would have been announced alongside NCIS and Origins) or for the winter TV season in early 2025 is likely.
NCIS and NCIS: Origins debut on CBS on Monday, October 14 before streaming on Paramount+.
