If there were any concerns NCIS was running out of steam without Mark Harmon, NCIS Season 20 should have washed them away.
It perfectly laid the groundwork for NCIS Season 21, which promises to be another must-see chapter of this veteran CBS procedural.
You probably have many questions about the upcoming season, and we’ve done all the digging so that we can answer them for you.
NCIS Season 21: Is It Happening?
With continued ratings erosion during NCIS Season 20, there were questions about whether the series would face a similar fate to NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans.
Both shows were canceled as their seasons aired, resulting in rush-job series finales that didn’t satisfy fans.
Thankfully, CBS announced in February 2023 that NCIS would be a part of its 2022-23 schedule.
Hooray, right?
It’s always good hearing your favorite show gets that seal of approval because losing a TV show to the Grim Reaper is tough.
What Will NCIS Season 21 Be About?
Plot details for NCIS Season 21 are scarce. By this point, we generally have an idea of what will happen.
NCIS Season 20 Episode 22 concluded thrillingly with Torres (Wilmer Valderamma) going after a man from his past.
If you watch NCIS online, you know the man remembered Nick and condescendingly called him “Nicky” during a season-ending cliffhanger.
Not one to mince words, Torres picked up his pistol from the table and declared he wanted to “watch you die.”
It was the ultimate cliffhanger that signaled we’d be delving deeper into Torres’ past on NCIS Season 21.
Given the recent rumors that Valderamma could be plotting an exit from the series, it seems like Torres’ arc is coming full circle.
We at TV Fanatic hope that isn’t the case because Torres is one of our favorite characters, but we’d also be interested in watching Valderamma in other roles.
It’s also possible if Torres leaves that he will reunite with Emily Bishop. We were robbed of that relationship, so we need some finality for them.
Beyond that, we don’t know much about what will happen to the other characters.
That’s not a bad thing. Predictability has never been a problem with the NCIS universe, so we’re inclined to believe everyone else will get compelling plots to work with.
Will the Cast Remain Intact for NCIS Season 21?
That’s a tricky question. On the one hand, it seems like Wilmer’s time on the show could conclude at the end of this storyline.
But at least we can confidently say Wilmer will be back for NCIS Season 21.
Who else will be joining him?
– Sean Murray as Special Agent Timothy McGee
– Brian Dietzen as Jimmy Palmer
– Gary Cole as Special Agent Alden Parker
– David McCallum as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard
– Rocky Carroll as NCIS Director Leon Vance
– Diona Reasonover as Forensic Scientist Kasie Hines
– Katrina Law as Special Agent Jessica Knight
Sometimes a cast works so well that it shouldn’t be changed, so we’re inclined to believe it will be relatively unchanged.
Will Any Former Cast Members Return for NCIS Season 21?
We’d love to say that we know whether former stars will return for the upcoming season, but we don’t have any confirmation at this stage.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been some reports about who could return.
RadarOnline went public in May with an article alleging that Michael Weatherly had been in talks to return for a while.
According to the outlet’s inside sources, Weatherley’s demands could dunk any potential comeback before they get off the ground.
“Insiders said they’re apparently balking over his insistence that they also bring back Cote de Pablo, 43, who played his love interest Ziva David, and his TV dad, Robert Wagner, 93,” the site states.
“Michael loves to stir things up and get fans excited about his comeback, but he’s doing himself no favors by being so demanding,” said an Insider.
“The bosses are tearing their hair out over their terms.”
RadarOnline says those associated with NCIS would be far more interested in bringing back Mark Harmon.
Harmon remains an executive producer, so it’s always possible that he could return to the series he headlined for 19 seasons.
CBS could generate a lot of interest in the series again by bringing back de Pablo and Weatherly because fans have been clamoring for more Ziva and Tony for years.
The series did soar in the ratings when de Pablo returned at the end of NCIS Season 16 and again on NCIS Season 17.
It does strike me as the type of thing that could play out in a final season of NCIS, whenever that may be.
Older shows are more expensive to produce, so there’s a good chance the show will end sooner rather than later.
If so, we should expect more familiar faces to pop back up.
Will There be Crossovers on NCIS Season 21?
CBS is big on crossovers, so they won’t go away anytime soon.
With two NCIS shows on the air during the 2023-24 TV season, they probably won’t take up as much space on the network’s schedule.
The good news is that if there is a crossover, LL Cool J will probably reprise his Sam Hanna role from NCIS: Los Angeles.
After the series finale of the spinoff aired, the actor appeared in the NCIS: Hawai’i Season 2 finale and will appear in a guest capacity for NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3.
For that reason alone, it’s possible that even more characters across the NCIS franchise could return for crossover events. It would make them seem more like events as opposed to regular episodes.
When Will NCIS Season 21 Premiere?
Despite CBS announcing NCIS Season 21 would be on its fall schedule, that’s simply impossible at this stage.
The WGA Strike is about to enter its third month, so no episodes of the series have been written, meaning that even if the strike were resolved soon, it would take time before episodes are ready to be filmed.
As if one strike wasn’t bad enough, an actor’s strike is also likely to go ahead as of mid-July, so even if there are scripts ready, there’s no guarantee the actors can show up for work.
For that reason alone, we shouldn’t expect any new episodes of NCIS until 2024 at the very earliest.
Even at that, it could be much longer.
Alas, that’s all we have so far, NCIS Fanatics. But be sure to bookmark this page because we’ll keep you up to speed with all the changes.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.