For over two decades, NCIS has been a constant in my life. From the moment Leroy Jethro Gibbs first graced our screens with his stoic presence and his infamous “rules,” the show became more than just a police procedural. It was a comfort, a weekly dose of familiar faces, witty banter, and a moral compass that, for 20 seasons, never wavered. I have watched every episode, memorized every rule, and followed every character arc. But with the recent creative decisions and the direction the show is heading, a terrifying fear has come true: the NCIS I loved is gone, and I am pleading with CBS to fix it before it is too late.
The show’s steady decline began, in my opinion, the moment it started to lose its identity. The Gibbs Era was defined by a singular, stoic hero, a man with a dark past who lived by his own code and was the heart and soul of the team. We didn’t just watch him solve crimes; we watched him father his team, guide them with a stern hand, and protect them from a world of evil. His presence was the show’s anchor, and his moral complexity was its beating heart.
While the show has done a commendable job in the wake of Mark Harmon’s departure, the recent creative choices have exposed a foundational problem: the show has no central identity. The leadership has been a rotating door, and the team’s dynamic, once as strong as family, now feels fragmented. The show has become a collection of separate storylines rather than a cohesive whole.
The first major misstep was the handling of Alden Parker (Gary Cole). When he was first introduced, he was a refreshing change of pace—a more open, emotionally available leader who valued communication over “Gibbs’s Rules.” But rather than allowing him to grow into his own, the writers have thrust him into a storyline that feels like a pale imitation of Gibbs’s past. The tragic murder of his father, Roman Parker, and his subsequent quest for revenge, feels like a forced attempt to give him the kind of personal drama that defined Gibbs for years. This is a betrayal of the character’s initial promise and a sign that the show is unwilling to let go of its past, even if it means sacrificing its future.
The show’s recent seasons have been more about personal melodrama and less about the unique procedural elements that made it great. The focus on Parker’s vendetta has sidelined other characters and has turned the show into a predictable, revenge-driven drama. This is a far cry from the NCIS that captivated audiences with its quirky forensics, its witty banter, and its intricate case-of-the-week format. The show has lost its unique flavor and is now just another generic cop show.
The show also seems to have completely forgotten about its supporting cast. Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), who was once a dynamic and compelling character with a deeply troubled past, has been reduced to a one-dimensional hothead whose character arc is constantly regressing. Jessica Knight (Katrina Law), while a capable agent, has been given a romantic storyline that feels forced and uninspired. The once-beloved Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) has been turned into a grieving widower whose emotional pain has been milked for far too long. The characters who once felt like family now feel like strangers, and their personal journeys are unconvincing and uncompelling.
The show is not just losing its identity; it is losing its soul. It is abandoning the very elements that made it a television phenomenon. It has moved away from the quirky, family-like atmosphere of Firehouse 51 (wait, wrong show, but you get the point) and has become a generic, melodramatic police procedural. It has replaced the quiet moral strength of Gibbs with a loud and messy revenge plot that is beneath its former greatness.
My plea to CBS is a simple one: stop trying to recreate Gibbs. Stop trying to force Parker into a role he was never meant to play. Stop neglecting the characters who have been the heart of the show for years. Stop the melodrama and bring back the quirky, character-driven storytelling that made the show great in the first place.
NCIS has a chance to be great again. It has a chance to forge a new identity, one that is not a pale imitation of its past but a bold new vision for its future. But to do so, it needs to let go of its ghosts, embrace its new characters for who they are, and remember the principles that made it a global phenomenon in the first place. My fears have come to fruition, but it is not too late for the show to find its way back home. I am begging CBS to fix it before it’s gone forever.
