What is the potential release date for the next season? Here is everything we know so far about NCIS Season 21.
ince its inception, NCIS has ruled television screens around the world, leading to a massive fan base being glued to the television screens to see the next chapter for over two decades with its gripping storylines and compelling characters. The interest among fans hasn’t died down as they eagerly await the return of their favorite military police procedural series, which is the first installment in the NCIS media franchise revolving around special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service!
Burning questions about the series’ comeback are being heavily circulated among the fandom, with one query, in particular, being raised the most as follows: “Will the new season officially make its comeback in January 2024?”
So, if you are one of those who want to know all about the next chapter that promises to be an absolute delight, then we can assure you that you’ve come to the right place! We at Web News Observer have compiled all of the relevant details about the potential release, plot, cast, and episodes, among other details, due to the high level of interest shown by the readers. Here is everything we know about the much-awaited NCIS Season 21.
NCIS Season 21 Release Date Updates: When will it return to CBS?
Ever since the beloved military police procedural series was renewed for its much-awaited 21st season, fans have been storming social media to know what the potential release date for the show’s official comeback to CBS will be. If you are wondering the same, then we can assure you that there is still a lot of time left for the official premiere, as there is no chance that the series will make its comeback in 2023! We say this with a bit of certainty as recently, it is not a secret that CBS has undergone a major change in its 2023–24 fall broadcast schedule.
This has happened due to the ongoing dual strike, which includes the 2023 WGA strike along with the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which sadly hasn’t reached any agreement, leading many major networks to take a step forward by revising their entire fall schedule by shifting the release dates for many scripted shows, including NCIS Season 21, until next year! The network has decided to fill the empty slots of the 2023-24 fall schedule with unscripted shows along with reruns of various series until the strikes are resolved, which are expected to last until October 2023!
To give confirmation and an official stamp to the claims regarding the series postponement, as many sources say, the two strikes are still far from resolved, with discussions still ongoing and expected to last for some time!
Due to this, it has become very hard to predict the most accurate schedule for when the filming will commence once the strike concludes, let alone an official premiere date. So, for your consideration, we are certain in making our best assumption that the beloved series is most likely to premiere sometime around early 2024, which will be the first quarter (January, February, and March) of the broadcast schedule with the new episodes airing at the same time slot every Monday at 9:00 p.m. on CBS and later available to stream on Paramount Plus.
Finally, to address your question, a January 2024 release date may be most effective only if production begins by November 2023. Otherwise, there is no chance it will premiere this early on as the writing of the new season’s scripts hasn’t even commenced yet, which will cause further delays in the completion of the shoots. As a result, we can assure the readers that there is no chance that NCIS Season 21 will be back in 2023! Hence, we ask fans to be patient and keep an eye on social media channels for more information on the new release dates, which will be acknowledged later.
Until we get any official confirmation, we can just assume what direction they will take moving forward! For the time being, we urge the readers to check out the new revised fall CBS’s 2023–24 schedule, which, on a positive note, includes the NCIS 20th anniversary marathon that will air on September 25, 2023, as a bonus for the lack of NCIS content.
NCIS Season 21 Plot: What to expect from the next season?
The series revolves around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, combining elements of military drama, police procedural genres, and comedy. So, even though not much has been revealed, we are sure that the show will be true to the theme like the prior seasons, which follows: NCIS is more than just an action drama. With liberal doses of humor, it’s a show that focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team forced to work together in high-stress situations.
The following passage contains major spoilers that will unravel details about this captivating series. So, if you don’t want to know all the crucial details in case you have already streamed the show, then we urge you to skip this section for a spoiler-free article!
There is no question that this series has a huge dedicated fan base, which has been growing and spanning over the last two decades! Due to this, we are certain that NCIS will continue to captivate audiences with its gripping storylines, unforgettable characters, and heart-pounding action. Season 21 promises to be no exception, as the team of special agents led by the charismatic Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by the incomparable Mark Harmon) delves into a whole new set of complex cases and unexpected twists and turns!
From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, these special agents investigate all crimes with Navy or Marine Corps ties. The next season will definitely pick up major plotlines from the final episode of NCIS Season 20, “Black Sky,” which is directed by Diana Valentine and written by Brendan Fehily and David J. North. In the episode, the viewers finally get to see that Torres goes undercover in Yuri’s prison and befriends a young inmate who swears he is framed for a crime he did not commit.
He recognizes the young man’s stepfather as someone from his family’s past and calls his sister upon arriving back at NCIS following Yuri’s murder at the hands of his henchmen. They realize that Yuri’s father, the mastermind of the attack (which would knock out all power in the United States for a prolonged period), had his own son killed due to Yuri’s loose lips.
Later in the episode, we can see that after the team halts the attack and brings power back, Torres goes alone to confront the man he recognized, intending to kill him, ending the episode on a cliffhanger. A major cliffhanger from the previous season’s finale will serve as inspiration for the upcoming season’s storyline expansion and resolution of all unanswered questions. It’s safe to say that the next chapter will be exciting to see as it unfolds all the previous plotlines with major revelations, turns, and twists that no one expected to happen!
NCIS Season 21 Cast: Who will reprise their roles?
Even though the casting has not yet been confirmed, the main cast members who are anticipated to reprise their roles in the new season are as follows:
Sean Murray as Timothy McGee, NCIS Senior Special Agent, second in command of MCRT; Wilmer Valderrama as Nick Torres, NCIS Special Agent; Katrina Law as Jessica Knight, NCIS Special Agent; Brian Dietzen as Dr. Jimmy Palmer, Chief Medical Examiner for NCIS; Diona Reasonover as Kasie Hines, Forensic Specialist for NCIS; Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance, NCIS Director, and Gary Cole as Alden Parker, former FBI Special Agent turned NCIS agent.
We would also like to highlight that in order to keep budget expenses down, there may be a cast shake-up, so we have to predict that there are some characters from the cast, along with the guest star cast, who might not return in the new season and will be revealed later.
On the other hand, David McCallum, as NCIS Historian and former Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, will have his role reduced! “I am delighted to say that I have reached an agreement with CBS for Dr. Donald Mallard to stay with NCIS for Season 16. Once again it will be a limited schedule. That arrangement will allow me to spend time with Katherine, our children, six grandsons, and Nickie,” the actor wrote to fans.
Lastly, the series is created by Donald P. Bellisario, and NCIS is produced by Bellisarius Productions in association with CBS Studios. Steven D. Binder, Chas. Floyd Johnson, Mark Horowitz, Mark Harmon, Scott Williams, David North, and Bellisario serve as executive producers.
NCIS Season 21 Official Episode Count: How many will be there, and where to stream?
When the series was renewed, it was given a standard 21 to 22 episode count with an average duration of 39 to 44 minutes, premiering on a weekly basis. Due to cost-cutting or ongoing dual strikes, the episode count might vary if the network decides to air a shorter season with only 15 to 18 episodes, which will help to conclude the run of the 21st season earlier rather than stretching the plot unnecessarily just for the sake of premiering the episodes.
There is another option available in order to compensate for the few episodes in the 21st season, as the network can opt to make the 22nd season (if renewed) a supersized one, which will make the fans happy and the network consistent with the series plotlines and character arcs without compromising much on the quality of the content being produced. To avoid early spoilers, all information on the episode names and synopses will be revealed later as the release date approaches.
If you haven’t been able to keep up with the seasons, then you can watch all the earlier episodes of NCIS exclusively on the CBS official website or the CBS app, depending on the user’s location, which will also later be available to watch on the official website. The viewers may also watch as it airs live through platforms like YouTube TV, FuboTV, and Hulu + Live TV. In order to receive updates on when the show premieres, interested viewers can also enable notifications on the streaming services.
The series is also available on Paramount Plus, FuboTV, and Netflix, along with all the prior seasons. The viewers can also stream it by renting or purchasing it on Vudu, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, and Google Play, with a vast number of membership plans. Moreover, the series is also available to watch exclusively on Pluto for free based on the viewer’s location. If you don’t have access to the content because of geo-blocking, we recommend trying out any suitable VPN to stream the series.
NCIS Season 21 Frequently Asked Questions
Is there any official promo for NCIS Season 21 available?
Despite NCIS being renewed for a 21st season back on February 21, 2023. The network hasn’t released any new promos for the upcoming season as filming hasn’t yet commenced, leaving a lot of time for the official marketing to begin, which usually begins a month or two before the premiere. We’ll just have to wait and see what the next few months have in store for us in relation to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike along with the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, as everything concerning the filming status is also neither here nor there!
Eventually, there is a huge chance that there will be a delay in the release of such promos.
Outside of the USA, where to stream the show?
The show airs on Network Ten and TV Hits (formerly TV1) in Australia, Global (syndicated on sister channels Showcase and Lifetime) in Canada, TV3 and The Box in New Zealand, Seriale+ (premieres), TVN (free-TV premieres), TVN7 (reruns), AXN (reruns), (India) Prime Video, Star World India (Pakistan) ARY Digital, ARY Zindagi, TVOne Pakistan and TV Puls (reruns) in Poland, Disney+ Hotstar and Rock Entertainment in Southeast Asia.
The other platforms for the international audience include CBS Justice, Channel 5 and 5USA in the United Kingdom, M6 in France, RTÉ2 in Ireland, Rai 2 in Italy, and Ion Television in the USA. In the UK, certain NCIS multi-part episodes were edited together to make a combined feature and shown on Channel 5, 5USA, CBS Action, and Fox UK. We would also like to emphasize that these platforms are still subject to change, which might be substituted in the future.
While you wait for more updates on NCIS Season 21, catch up with the previous seasons and let us know which season you like the most.
