If you’re the type of person who’s always telling yourself that one day you’ll buckle down and watch all ofNCIS,Netflixhas great news for you to kick-start your marathon. This month, the streaming platform is adding the earlier seasons of the long-running series to its catalog, and you will finally be able to go back and discover how it all began in 2003. The first five seasons ofthe procedural serieswill become available on the platform onJanuary 23.
If you’re unfamiliar withthe gist ofNCIS: the show follows special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that deal with high-visibility crimes that are directly or indirectly tied to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The show was originally led byMark Harmon(Freaky Friday), who played Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs for nineteen seasons. He was closely followed byMichael Weatherly(Bull),Pauley Perrette(Broke) andDavid McCallum(Sapphire & Steal).
One thing that you might not know is thatNCIScould never have become what it is today ifCBShadn’t taken a chance on it. Initially, the TV series wasn’t a hit — from 2003 to 2005, it felt like people barely knew of the show. It was only after Season 3 thatNCISbegan to gain traction, and it escalated so much that, in later seasons,NCISbecame one of the most watched TV programs in the U.S. Not by chance, the seriesspawned a slate of spin-offsthat includeNCIS: Los AngelesandNCIS: New Orleans.
Is ‘NCIS’ Still Going?
Yes, the original show, and its sprawling franchise, are very much alive. Currently rolling out episodes from Season 22, the series now hasGary Cole(The Good Wife) as Supervisory Special Agent Alden Parker, along withSean Murray(Hocus Pocus) as Special Agent Timothy McGee andWilmer Walderrama(That ’70s Show) as Nick Torres.NCISwas created byDonald P. BellisarioandDon McGill, who also worked on several other landmark shows, such asMagnum P.I.,CSIandQuantum Leap.
For fans who want to go back even further than Season 1, CBS createdNCIS: Origins, a new series that debuted in 2024 and follows Leroy Jethro Gibbs (this time played byAustin Stowell) in his early years, when he was dealing with the death of his family. Harmon returns as narrator, andthe series recently revealedhow Gibbs and Franks (Kyle Schmid) first bonded.
You will be able to stream the first five seasons ofNCISon Netflix on January 23.
Get Netflix
