NCIS may be one of CBS’s most powerful franchises today, but its path to dominance wasn’t instant—or guaranteed. In fact, a single cable network played a crucial role in transforming the Navy procedural from a modest performer into a ratings juggernaut.
According to The Hollywood Reporter’s oral history of NCIS, the series was still finding its identity when it premiered in 2003. Former CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller admitted the show hadn’t fully clicked in its early days, despite confidence in creators Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill.
“I don’t think it was really NCIS in its first season,” Geller explained. “It took a couple of seasons to become something.” Once it did, however, the momentum was unstoppable.
That turning point came when USA Network began airing NCIS reruns around the end of Season 3. The move dramatically expanded the show’s reach, exposing new audiences to the evolving team dynamics and helping viewers grow comfortable with Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Executive producer Mark Horowitz credited the cable exposure with elevating the series to new heights. “Both JAG and NCIS started running 24 hours a day on USA Network,” he recalled. “That’s when the network ratings went up, and we moved into the No. 1 position.”
Rather than cannibalizing CBS’s audience, the constant cable reruns created a feedback loop—hooking viewers who then followed the show back to its original network.
The result was a loyal fanbase that continues to sustain NCIS and its spinoffs today, even in the streaming era. For Bellisario, the success was validating, if slightly surprising. “It was a great feeling,” he said. “I knew it was a good show—I just didn’t know how big it would become.”