CBS has just made a historic move for the NCIS franchise that marks a first for the iconic shows! Get ready for NCIS Tuesday in fall 2025.
It’s that time of year when the networks release their upcoming fall schedules. That means some shows survive and others are dropped, with the networks often making some surprise moves.
CBS sure made a surprise with a total shift for its Tuesday night lineup. Since 2021, Tuesdays have been FBI Night with FBI, FBI: International, and FBI: Most Wanted, creating a popular block.
While the mothership FBI will continue, CBS shockingly canceled its two spinoffs. Thankfully, NCIS won’t suffer the same fate. CBS gave renewals for NCIS, NCIS: Origins, and NCIS: Sydney. Now, fans can delight in seeing NCIS taking over Tuesdays later in 2025.
The NCIS Tuesday night block is set
TVLine shared CBS’s 2025-26 fall TV schedule. Among the big moves is that FBI is moving into NCIS’s old time slot of Mondays at 9/8c, where it will lead into the new CIA spinoff. It’s notable as the first time that FBI has not aired on Tuesdays since it premiered in 2018.
NCIS will kick off season 23 by going back to its old time slot of Tuesdays at 8/7c. The show had been a dominant force on Tuesdays until 2021, when it was moved to Monday. Some fans speculate that the different night may have affected the ratings.
The series will then be followed by NCIS: Origins season 2 and NCIS: Sydney season 3. The latter had aired its first season on Wednesdays and its second on Fridays. There’s no word yet on whether season 3 will expand the show from 10 episodes to a standard of 20-22 episodes for the fall.
This marks the first time ever that three NCIS shows have aired on the same night. While there have been cases of NCIS followed by either the New Orleans or Hawaii spinoffs, NCIS: Los Angeles was on Sundays. So we finally have an NCIS block for CBS.
Why this is great for the NCIS franchise
Frankly, this move is long overdue for NCIS and a great return to form. It never felt right for the show to air on Mondays after so long dominating Tuesday nights. Likewise, spreading out the franchise across several nights was an odd move as NBC has proven the success of its blocks of One Chicago and the Law & Order shows.
It’s also good given the competition will be lighter on Tuesdays this fall. NBC has The Voice and a new Jimmy Fallon series in September. October will then have NBC air NBA games, so NCIS will be a good alternative.
FOX will have Doc and Murder in a Small Town while ABC hasn’t released its schedule yet, but is expected to still have The Rookie and Will Trent on Tuesdays. So, the NCIS shows should have a good audience.
It’s not only a boost to the mothership, NCIS, but also to its spinoffs. Origins had a good first season, but a second one on a better night can help it gain more viewers. Likewise, NCIS: Sydney languished on Fridays, so following the first two shows can expose it to a wider audience and make it a good hit.
Thus, fans can see Tuesdays move from FBI to NCIS this fall while CBS continues to dominate the night.
NCIS, NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney are all streaming on Paramount+.
