The passing of Sean Murray: The veteran star of the hit series NCIS has breathed his last md20

FlixPatrol is reporting that NCIS is up two spots today on Paramount +’s Top 10 TV Shows chart in the United States. It is currently in the No. 3 position, behind just Landman (No. 1) and South Park (No. 2). The long-running show also remains a hit in every other country where Paramount+ is available, except in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

NCIS was one of 10 shows that CBS renewed this week for the 2026-27 broadcast season. Among the renewals were the network’s other two NCIS shows — Origins and Sydney. Origins, a prequel following a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, will return for a third season, while the Australian-set spinoff Sydney will be back for a fourth season.

The remaining shows renewed were dramas Tracker (Season 4), Matlock (Season 3), Elsbeth (Season 4), and Fire Country (Season 5), and sitcom Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (Season 3). Reality competition series Survivor and The Amazing Race were also renewed for Season 51 and Season 39, respectively.

NCIS Remains a Cornerstone Franchise for CBS

NCIS was created by Donald P. Bellisario as a spinoff of the legal drama series JAG. The series follows special agents tasked with investigating military-related crimes.

The original main cast of NCIS was introduced via a two-part backdoor pilot on JAG in April 2003, ahead of its premiere on CBS the following September. Mark Harmon was the lead star of NCIS for its first 18 seasons, portraying the fan-favorite Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who led the NCIS unit based at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

Harmon left NCIS at the start of Season 19, with Gary Cole coming in as his replacement, NCIS Supervisory Special Agent Alden Parker. However, Harmon remains heavily involved with the prequel, NCIS: Origins, and even reprised his role as Gibbs in an episode.

Cast changes are common practice for long-running procedural drama series like NCIS. As such, the current Season 23 cast looks very different from the Season 1 cast. Sean Murray and Brian Dietzen have been with the show since the first season, as Timothy McGee and Dr. Jimmy Palmer, respectively, although neither was a series regular until Season 2.

The rest of the current main cast for NCIS includes Cole, Wilmer Valderrama as Nick Torres, Katrina Law as Jessica Knight, Diona Reasonover as Kasie Hines, and Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance.

The success of NCIS has so far led to the development of six spinoff series — Los Angeles in 2009, New Orleans in 2014, Hawai’i in 2021, Sydney in 2023, Origins in 2024, and Tony & Ziva in 2025.

NCIS: New Orleans was the first spinoff to go off the air, concluding in May 2021 after seven seasons. NCIS: L.A. followed two years later, wrapping up a 14-season run in May 2023.

Unfortunately, Hawai’i and Tony & Ziva saw their respective runs cut short. The former was canceled after three seasons in 2024, while Paramount+ pulled the plug on the latter after just a single season back in December.

NCIS returns with a new episode on CBS on Mar. 3. Until then, fans can stream the entire NCIS franchise on Paramount+.