My Worst Fears for NCIS Have Come True, And I Need CBS To Fix It Before It’s Too Late
For over two decades, NCIS has been more than just a television show; for millions of us, it has been a weekly appointment, a source of comfort, and a masterclass in the procedural genre. It was a perfect blend of intricate mystery, laugh-out-loud humor, and deeply human character drama. The team—Gibbs, Ducky, Tony, McGee, Ziva, Abby—felt less like fictional characters and more like a family we got to visit every week. But over the last few seasons, I have watched with a growing sense of dread as the very essence of the show has slowly eroded. My worst fears have, regrettably, come to fruition. I’m writing this not out of frustration, but from a place of genuine concern and a plea to CBS: it’s not too late to fix this, but you have to act now.
The NCIS that I first fell in love with was a procedural with a soul. It wasn’t just about solving the crime of the week; it was about the team’s dynamic. The humor came from Tony’s movie references, Gibbs’s head slaps, and the banter in the bullpen. The heart came from the quiet moments between Gibbs and Ducky in the morgue, or a rare moment of vulnerability from Ziva. The show’s magic was in its structure: a captivating mystery that was satisfyingly wrapped up by the end of the hour, allowing the ongoing character arcs to unfold slowly and organically. This was the formula that made it a global phenomenon and a ratings juggernaut.
The First Fear: The Rotating Door of Characters
One of my biggest fears has always been the inevitable cast changes, and in recent years, it has become a reality at a dizzying pace. The departure of key characters is a natural part of any long-running show. But with NCIS, it feels less like an evolution and more like a series of desperate attempts to fill unfillable shoes. Since the exits of Tony, Ziva, and Abby, and especially with the departure of the show’s anchor, Gibbs, the show has introduced a heavy stream of new agents.
The problem isn’t that the new characters are bad; the problem is that the show doesn’t give them the time to develop the same kind of lived-in chemistry. The new team feels like a collection of talented actors rather than a cohesive family. The witty banter is gone, replaced with more serious, dramatic exchanges. The playful ribbing has been traded for professional formality. The family dynamic that was the very foundation of the show’s success has been lost in the constant churn. For a show that was defined by its relationships, the lack of a stable, long-term team dynamic is a critical wound that needs to be addressed.
The Second Fear: Losing the Procedural Heart
My second and perhaps most significant fear is the show’s shift away from its procedural roots. The original NCIS excelled at the “case of the week” format. Every episode was a self-contained puzzle that audiences could follow and solve along with the team. There was a sense of satisfaction in watching the team piece together clues, interrogate suspects, and ultimately bring a killer to justice. The narrative was tight, focused, and purposeful.
Lately, however, NCIS has fallen prey to the television trend of overly serialized storytelling. Instead of engaging, single-episode mysteries, we are often given multi-episode arcs that feel stretched thin and, frankly, less interesting. The overarching storylines often feel generic and lack the quirky, character-driven charm of old. A lot of the time, the plot seems to exist just to create drama, rather than drama being a natural result of the plot. The show has lost its unique identity and is starting to feel like any other long-running crime drama on television. The satisfying “case closed” feeling is gone, replaced with cliffhangers that feel more exhausting than exciting.
The Final Plea: It’s Not Too Late to Save It
CBS, you have an opportunity to listen to your most loyal fans before it’s too late. The show is still a massive success, but its soul is at risk. Here is my urgent plea to you:
- Bring Back the Banter: The new team needs time to breathe and build chemistry. Let them have those quiet, funny moments that humanized the original cast. Give us episodes that focus more on their personalities than on a convoluted, multi-episode terrorist plot. The humor and heart that made the show special are still there, they just need to be given a chance to shine again.
- Return to the “Case of the Week”: The core of NCIS is the procedural. Please, bring back more stand-alone episodes with a strong focus on the investigation. This is the show’s bread and butter, and it’s what audiences tune in for. Let the big, season-long arcs be the exception, not the rule.
- Find a New Anchor: The show has relied on a constant stream of new characters, but it needs a new anchor. Find a character who can become the new moral and comedic center, someone who can command the screen in the way Gibbs once did, without simply being a carbon copy. Give this character and the rest of the team the space to grow together, not just move in and out of the bullpen.
I am not asking for the show to go back in time, and I understand that change is inevitable. But I believe NCIS is in danger of losing its audience for good if it continues on its current path. It is still a beautiful, powerful brand, but it needs a course correction. The heart of the show is still beating, and I, along with millions of other fans, are desperately hoping you’ll give it the attention it needs to thrive once more. Please, CBS, fix it before it’s too late.
