With CBS’ premiere week, NCIS is set to make groundbreaking TV history with its programming. As one of the longest-running scripted shows on the small screen, the Navy-focused law enforcers are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Ensemble shows may be dying, with new projects opting to have a singular protagonist, one cannot deny the appeal of NCIS and its peers when it comes to weekly viewings.
Though technically a spinoff of JAG, the NCIS franchise has been viewed as an entity of its own. Not only has it matched its parent series’ popularity, it has also significantly eclipsed the 10-series show with its own universe that continues to evolve. It all starts with the flagship, which will enter its 23rd season in the 2025-2026 network cycle.
Admittedly, NCIS isn’t the juggernaut that it was once before. For years, it was TV’s number 1 procedural, but it was toppled by Justin Hartley’s Tracker a couple of years ago. Despite this, it remains to be 1 of the most-watched shows on the small screen. Proving CBS’ confidence in the IP is the recent launch of a few spinoffs, which include NCIS: Sydney, NCIS: Origins, and most recently, NCIS: Tony & Ziva.
Granted that NCIS has always had offshoots, with the earliest one launched in 2009 in NCIS: Los Angeles, followed by NCIS: New Orleans, and NCIS: Hawai’i, its current selection of offshoots is more varied. And, the franchise is set to make TV history thanks to them this week.
NCIS Will Have 4 Different Shows Releasing New Episodes This Week
Unlike NBC and ABC, which have already rolled out the majority of their shows for the fall 2025 cycle, CBS has set this week (starting October 13) its premiere week. This means that in the next several days, all of its scripted shows will debut their respective seasons, including NCIS. It’s worth noting, however, that instead of Monday nights, the network has moved the procedural franchise to Tuesdays, as the FBI franchise downgrades to just its flagship.
So, NCIS season 23 kicks off the night with an earlier timeslot at 8pm ET, followed by NCIS: Origins season 2 at 9pm ET. Meanwhile, NCIS: Sydney season 3 moves from Friday to join the rest of the franchise to round out the night at 10pm ET. This creates an NCIS primetime block supposedly called “Super Tuesday,” as dubbed by CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach.
The wave of new NCIS content doesn’t end on Tuesday, however. Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo’s spinoff, NCIS: Tony & Ziva will release its penultimate episode on Paramount+ on Thursday. The 10-episode show follows MCRT’s star-crossed lovers across Europe as they clear their name for being framed. Despite being separated from the rest of the Super Tuesday, NCIS: Tony & Ziva features Easter eggs and references that reinforce its ties to the bigger franchise.
What Makes NCIS Franchise’s Week Milestone Extra Special
Four new episodes of four different shows in a week from a single TV franchise isn’t entirely new, to be fair. NBC and Wolf Entertainment have done this with One Chicago Wednesday in the late 2010s. Joining the already-established shows such as Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med is the short-lived Chicago Justice. Unfortunately, the fourth spinoff was canceled after just 1 season.
Currently, the Law & Order franchise has four shows airing in the same TV cycle, with Law & Order: SVU season 27, Law & Order season 25, and Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 on NBC, while Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent on The CW. However, both Organized Crime and Criminal Intent are only re-airing previously-released episodes on traditional TV after originally releasing them on Peacock and Citytv.
Meanwhile, the NCIS franchise with the flagship, Origins, Sydney, and Tony & Ziva are breaking new ground by elevating the primetime block with additional viewing on streaming. This marks the first time that a procedural universe is concurrently airing fresh episodes for its shows on both network TV and streaming. Usually, studios spread out the release to ensure that they have content for its fanbase throughout the year.
While that’s what CBS Studios partly did when it debuted NCIS: Tony & Ziva several weeks ahead of NCIS’ Super Tuesday debut, they could have released it during the summer hiatus. That way, fans of the franchise have something new to enjoy during the annual break. However, the overlap creates a feat that is greater.
How NCIS’ Upcoming TV Schedule Can Solve The Network Vs. Streaming Debacle
Depending on what lies ahead for NCIS: Tony & Ziva’s story, the franchise’s strategy can crystallize how network TV can finally address its losing record to streaming shows. It’s no secret that as streaming shows gain popularity, traditional shows gradually lose viewership. Somehow, this trend is also reflected in award shows, as streaming and cable series tend to dominate categories.
By tying network shows to streaming spinoffs, they are actively pushing for fans to check out both release formats. Of course, the storytelling still needs to be high quality, especially since it will be competing with high-concept shows. However, if NCIS can convince its massive fanbase to check both its broadcast and streaming offering, it might be a strategy that could finally bridge the gap between the formats.
