The NCIS Season 12 title card.
NCIS, the theme of this wiki, is an American police procedural drama television series, revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
The show is set in Washington D.C. and takes place throughout the Capital Metro area and surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia with some cases even taking place overseas in Afghanistan or Iraq.
The concept of NCIS and its characters were originally introduced in two episodes of NCIS's parent series, "JAG", the JAG Season 8 episodes, Ice Queen (episode) and Meltdown (episode) which aired in April 2003.
Six months later, in September 23rd, 2003, NCIS premiered as a solo series with its series premiere episode, Yankee White (episode).
Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill served as NCIS's creators and executive producers, the two men also responsible for creating and producing JAG.
NCIS is the first member of the NCIS franchise. It is the second longest-running scripted non-animated U.S. primetime TV series currently airing, surpassed only by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present), and is the 15th longest-running scripted U.S. primetime TV series overall.
NCIS was originally referred to as Navy NCIS during season one; "Navy" was later dropped from the title, resulting in it being named "NCIS".
In season six, a two-part episode led to a spin-off series, NCIS: Los Angeles. A two-part episode in season eleven led to a second spin-off series, NCIS: New Orleans.
d from JAG, a show made by the same producer, Donald Bellisario with NCIS serving as a spin-off from JAG with Bellisario and Don McGill serving as both the co-creators and executive producers of both Jag and NCIS.
The concept and characters were initially introduced in a two-part episode of the CBS series JAG in the episodes Ice Queen (episode) and Meltdown (episode) which first aired in April 2003.
In the NCIS Season 2 episode, Lt. Jane Doe (episode), NCIS began showing two second long black-and-white clips known as Foofs. These clips are shown at the beginning of every segment depicting the last two seconds of that segment, a segment being the 5–6 portions of the show meant to be separated by commercials. In the season three premiere, "Kill Ari (Part I)", a freeze-frame shot was also used with the very end of most episodes turned into a freeze frame as well
In 2011, NCIS was voted as America's most favorite show and finished its tenth season as the most-watched television series in the U.S. during the 2012–13 TV season.
NCIS has aired over eleven seasons so far and finished airing its twelfth season in May 2015 with a thirteenth season due to begin airing in September 2015.
Although NCIS is set in Washington D.C., the show itself is filmed in California.
Main NCIS Characters
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs- A former Gunnery Sergeant with the United States Marine Corps, Gibbs is the Supervisory Special Agent of the main NCIS Major Case Response Team. During his time as a Marine, Gibbs served as a Marine sniper and originally had a happy family until his first wife, Shannon and their young daughter, Kelly were murdered by an assassin with ties to a Mexican drug lord due to the fact that the assassin had shot the NIS agent assigned to guard Shannon and Kelly which caused a crash that later cost the two their lives. As this happened, Gibbs was serving in Desert Storm and after learning of their deaths, was so consumed by grief and revenge that he later headed to Mexico to exact his revenge against the drug lord which he did by killing the other man after shooting him through the head, unaware that the drug lord had two children. Gibbs later returned to the U.S and kept the crime concealed for nearly twenty years until it returned with a vengeance in May 2010. After leaving the Marines with the rank of Gunnery Sergeant, Gibbs joined NCIS when it was known as NIS as a Junior Agent and was known by his boss as "probie", which his former boss still calls him. Gibbs then rose through the ranks until he gained full leadership of the Major Case Response Team which he holds to this day. Gibbs is seen as somewhat of a fatherly figure to Abby, Kate, and later to Ziva. Due to his senior status at NCIS, he has also carried out tasks at a higher level, such as becoming a temporary acting director for the entire agency and point man for the agency during a major crisis such as the Harper Dearing terrorist attacks. His current fate is umknown as he has been shot by teenager Luke Harris in the Season 12 finale episode, Neverland (episode).
- Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo- The Senior Special Agent of the NCIS Major Case Response Team, DiNozzo prior to joining NCIS was a homicide Detective in Baltimore. Eventually, after learning that his partner was corrupt, DiNozzo resigned and joined NCIS instead which occurred in 2001. Many regard DiNozzo as a younger version of Gibbs due to the fact that in Gibbs's absence, DiNozzo will temporarily display Gibbs's traits such as headslapping or demanding that the other members of the team get straight to the point. DiNozzo is a womanizer and also a fan of movies. Due to his childish behavior, DiNozzo is the one who will receive most of the headslaps that Gibbs usually dishes out.
- Abigail "Abby" Sciuto"- The Chief Forensic Scientist with the NCIS Major Case Response Team, Abby wears Gothic-styled clothing and is addicted to the fictional beverage, Caf Pow.
- Timothy "Tim" McGee- A Special Agent assigned to the NCIS Major Case Response Team, McGee is a graduate of MIT and is very skilled in computer forensics, often serving as the hacker for the team.
- Jimmy "James" Palmer- The Medical Examiner Assistant, Palmer is the assistant to NCIS's Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Donald Mallard.
- Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop- The newest addition to the NCIS Major Case Response Team. Prior to joining NCIS full-time, Bishop served as an analyst for the NSA. She is also originally from Oklahoma and is also married.
- Leon Vance- The current Director for NCIS who originally served as an Assistant Director for NCIS. In the aftermath of the murder of his predecessor, Director Jennifer Shepard, Vance was promoted to the role of Director of NCIS which he continues to hold to this day. He is also responsible for establishing the Office of Special Projects which serves as a counterpart to the main NCIS operations in D.C and is located in Los Angeles.
- Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard- The Chief Medical Examiner for NCIS.
- Caitlin "Kate" Todd- An NCIS Special Agent who prior to joining NCIS worked as an agent with the Secret Service and who was also assigned to the Presidential Protection Detail on board Air Force. In the aftermath of a case where a terrorist attempted to kill the President of the United States, Kate resigned from the Secret Service for good and almost immediately, joined NCIS where she stayed for a year and a half while also serving as Tony DiNozzo's partner. Kate's potential career came to a tragic end when she was shot in the head and killed by terrorist, Ari Haswari in the last few minutes of the NCIS Season 2 finale episode, Twilight.
- Jennifer "Jenny" Shepard- A former NCIS Special Agent, Shepard became the new Director in the aftermath of her predecessor, Tom Morrow resigning. She held the position for three years before dying from injuries sustained in a gunfight in the Season 5 finale episode, "Judgment Day Part 1".
- Ziva David- A former officer associated with Mossad, Ziva joined the NCIS team, replacing her predecessor, Kate Todd. At the time, Ziva was simply a Liaison Officer between NCIS and Mossad. Ziva is also responsible for killing Ari Haswari, a terrorist who is Ziva's own half-brother and who also killed Ziva's predecessor, Kate. At the end of Season 6, Ziva resigned from NCIS and stayed in Israel although she was later captured in Somalia and tortured by tourists. In the Season 7 premiere episode, "Truth or Consequences", Gibbs, McGee and Tony rescued her. Following her recovery, Ziva resigned from Mossad for good and was eventually given the right to become a probationary NCIS agent. Two or three years later, Ziva, having since become a citizen of the United States, also became a fully-fledged NCIS Special Agent too. She later resigned in the Season 10 finale episode, "Damned If You Do" and despite Tony's attempts to convince her otherwise, chose to stay in Israel with the Season 11 episode, "Past, Present and Future" marking Ziva's final appearance. She was later replaced by Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop.
Recurring NCIS Characters
- Tobias Fornell- A Senior Special Agent with the FBI, Fornell married Gibbs's ex, Diane and the two had a daughter, Emily. Originally enemies, Fornell and Leroy Jethro Gibbs of NCIS have a close friendship.
- Thomas "Tom" Morrow- Originally the Director of NCIS, Morrow held the position for two years with Gibbs respecting Morrow enough to call Morrow "sir". In the aftermath of NCIS Special Agent Kate Todd's murder, Morrow resigned from his position at NCIS, having been offered a job at the Department of Homeland Security which Morrow accepted. Morrow was later replaced by Jenny Shepard and following Shepard's death by Leon Vance. Morrow later returned in NCIS Season 10, still employed with Homeland Security. His final appearance came in the Season 11 premiere episode, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" where he was injured after being caught in the bombing of a hotel ballroom.
- Michael "Mike" Franks- Gibbs's mentor and a former NIS agent, Franks took Gibbs under his wing when Gibbs joined NIS (later NCIS) and taught Gibbs everything he knew. Franks later retired for good and moved to Mexico with Gibbs regularly calling Mike for help in regards to a case. Tragically, Franks was the latest victim of the Port-to-Port Killer, Lieutenant Jonas Cobb although Franks occasionally appeared as hallucinations to Gibbs.
- Jackson Gibbs- The father of NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Jackson was greatly admired and loved by the members of Gibbs's own team. Jackson suffered a fatal stroke and passed away some time prior to the Season 11 finale episode, Honor Thy Father.
- Anthony DiNozzo Senior- The father of NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo Junior.
- Abigail "Abby" Borin- A former Marine who is now a Special Agent with the Coast Guard Investigative Service or CGIS.
- Ned Dorneget- A young probationary agent who is hoping for the opportunity to join the main NCIS Major Case Response Team someday.
- Eli David- The father of former NCIS Special Agent Ziva David, Eli originally served as the Deputy Director of Mossad before becoming its main Director. He was later killed by machine gunfire during the NCIS Season 10 episode, "Shabbat Shalom" with his death greatly devastating Ziva.
- Dr. Samantha Ryan- The head of DoD PsyOps Division, Dr. Ryan has a young teenage son named Parker. She and Gibbs later formed a relationship but Ryan was forced to break up with Gibbs for good and flee with Parker after learning that her ex-husband and Parker's father, Liam Dunham had been released from prison.
- Erica Jane "E.J." Barrett- An agent assigned to the Navy Yard in Washington D.C. and also the niece of former SECNAV Phillip Davenport, Barrett led a team of her own which was given the task of investigating the Port-to-Port killer. After losing her team to the killer, Barrett later took some time off and went on the run, having been targeted by an assassin before she later reappeared in the Season 9 episode, "Housekeeping".
- Ray Cruz- A CIA agent who was also Ziva David's boyfriend for a time.
- Trent Kort- A CIA agent well known to Gibbs and his team.
- M. Allison Hart- A lawyer who also had a relationship with Gibbs during NCIS Season 7.
- Michelle Lee- A lawyer and also an NCIS Special Agent who was later revealed to be the mole. Was later shot and killed by Gibbs in the Season 6 episode, "Dagger".
- Hollis Mann- Originally a Colonel with the United States Army, Hollis also worked for the Army CID and later retired, moving to Hawaii. She later returned during NCIS Season 11 where it was revealed that she now worked for the Department of Defense.
- Jeanne Benoit- A doctor who served as Tony's girlfriend while he was undercover.
- Paula Cassidy- An NCIS Special Agent.
- Gerald Jackson- Originally an assistant for Dr. Donald Mallard, Gerald was forced into rehab after the NCIS Hostage Crisis which saw Gerald himself being shot in the left arm. Gerald later left NCIS for good and was later permanently replaced by Jimmy Palmer.
Antagonists
- Ari Haswari- Mossad assassin/double agent and mole who unleashed a wave of havoc and destruction upon NCIS. Is responsible for the hostage situation that left NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Medical Examiner Assistant Gerald Jackson injured and is also the one who murdered NCIS Special Agent Kate Todd. Ari was later shot and killed by his half-sister, Ziva David.
- Mamoun Sharif- A terrorist who attempted to poison thousands of other people with nerve gas. Was later killed by Colonel Hollis Mann.
- René Benoit- A French-born arms dealer known as "The Frog". Was later found with Gibbs determining from evidence that it had been Jenny Shepard who had killed the Frog.
- Svetlana Chernitskaya- A Russian assassin who was also the fiance of Anatoli Zhukov, Svetlana sent four assassins to eliminate Jenny Shepard with Jenny and the assassins dying in the attempt. Svetlana herself later attempted to kill Gibbs, only for Mike Franks to kill Svetlana first.
- Saleem Ulman- A terrorist responsible for capturing and torturing Ziva David with Saleem later dying after being shot in the head albeit from a very long range by Gibbs.
- Lee Wan Kai- A North-Korean assassin that the Office of Special Projects in Los Angeles and the main NCIS Major Case Response Team both encountered. Kai later died at the hands of Leon Vance's wife, Jackie.
- Merton Bell- A Colonel and also the head of PMC, the largest private military security firm in the United States. Bell was later arrested and sent to Mexico where he met Pedro Henandez's children, Paloma Reynosa and Alejandro Rivera with all three vowing to destroy Gibbs. Unfortunately, Bell's need for vengeance was so great that he failed to realize that he was being used. Bell later attempted to kill Mike Franks and Franks's own family but Bell himself was later betrayed and killed by his own second, Jason Paul Dean on the orders of Paloma Reynosa with Bell's remains being disfigured to hide the cause of death and also the identity of Bell's murderer.
- Alejandro Rivera- A member of the Mexican Justice Department, Rivera was also Pedro Hernadez's son and has attempted to kill Gibbs and the NCIS team on two separate occasions, only to fail both times. Is currently imprisoned.
- Paloma Reynosa-The head of the Reynosa drug cartel and Pedro Hernanadez's daughter, Paloma attempted to kill Gibbs but was later accidentally killed by her own brother, Alejandro.
- Riley McCallister- A former NCIS agent who became an arms dealer and who also manipulated events that cost NCIS Director Jenny Shepard her life. Was later fatally stabbed in the chest or stomach by Leon Vance when McCallister attempted to kill Vance.
- Lieutenant Jonas Cobb- A Lieutenant in the United States Navy and also a serial killer called the "Port to Port Killer" who was responsible for killing numerous Naval personnel at various ports all over the world. Died after being shot by
- Harper Dearing- A businessman-turned-terrorist, Harper Dearing became consumed by grief and rage after his son, Evan died in an explosion on board a Navy ship. Dearing is also responsible for the Navy Yard Bombing. Dearing himself was later killed by NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
- Sergei Mishnev- The half-brother of Ari Haswari, Mishnev attempted to exact revenge against Gibbs whom he believed had killed Ari. Mishnev himself later died after being shot in the head by FBI agent, Tobias Fornell.
Naming of the show
Before the launch of the first season, advertisements on CBS called the show as "Naval CIS" and by the time of the launch of the first episode, NCIS was airing under the name Navy NCIS, the name it held for the entire first season.
Since the "N" in NCIS stands for "Naval,” the name Navy NCIS was redundant. The decision to use this name was reportedly made by CBS, over the objections of Bellisario, in order to attract new viewers (particularly those of JAG), who might not know the NCIS abbreviation and also disambiguate between NCIS and the similarly-themed and similarly-spelled CBS series CSI and its spinoffs. (The original title, for instance, was often misquoted as "Navy CSI.")
After its successful first season, the name of the series was shortened to NCIS and that is the name it carries to this day.
American Ratings
| Season | Timeslot | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Ranking | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuesday 8:00PM | September 23, 2003 | May 25, 2004 | 2003–2004 | #26 | 11.84 |
| 2 | Tuesday 8:00PM | September 28, 2004 | May 24, 2005 | 2004–2005 | #22 | 13.57 |
| 3 | Tuesday 8:00PM | September 20, 2005 | May 16, 2006 | 2005–2006 | #16 | 15.27 |
| 4 | Tuesday 8:00PM | September 19, 2006 | May 22, 2007 | 2006–2007 | #18 | 14.54 |
| 5 | Tuesday 8:00PM | September 25, 2007 | May 20, 2008 | 2007–2008 | #14 | 14.41 |
| 6 | Tuesday 8:00PM | September 23, 2008 | May 19, 2009 | 2008–2009 | #5 | 17.77 |
| 7 | Tuesday 8:00PM | September 22, 2009 | May 25, 2010 | 2009-2010 | #4 | 19.33 |
| 8 | Tuesday 8:00PM | September 21, 2010 | May 17, 2011 | 2010-2011 | #5 | 19.46 |
| 9 | Tuesday 8:00PM | September 20, 2011 | May 15, 2012 | 2011-2012 | #3 | 19.49 |
NCIS has become a top 10 program in its fifth season, with an average of about 15.65 million viewers, despite the WGA strike.
The show is one of the few that has increased in viewership over the last few years as it progresses, as opposed to most shows, which decrease in popularity as they fade, and NCIS has even been able to finish a strong second to American Idol, a time slot seen by many as a "death slot" for most series.
The most watched NCIS episode to date is the seventh season episode Reunion (episode) with an audience of 21.37 million.
Broadcasting
The periods are used for place markers. Please feel free to fill them with the correct information, or give me the info to fill it with.
| Region | Title/Translation | TV Broadcaster(s) | Series Premiere | Weekly Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | NCIS | CBS Television (First run) and USA Network (Re-runs) (starting in 2008) |
September 23 2003 | Tuesday 8:00pm |
| Canada | NCIS | Global (season 4 on CH ), and also on NTV. The show was recently called up to Global for the 2007-2008 season. |
September 23 2003 | Tuesday 8:00pm ET |
| Asia | . | Star World | . | . |
| Arab World | . | Showtime Arabia Season 4 MBC Action Season 2 |
. | . |
| Australia | NCIS | Network Ten (first run) TV Hits (syndication) |
. | Tuesday 8:30pm Sunday 8:30pm AEST |
| Belgium | Navy NCIS NCIS : enquêtes spéciales |
VT4 RTL-TVi |
. | Sunday 19:30 CET Friday 20:15 CET |
| Brazil | NCIS | AXN | . | Friday 8:00pm |
| Bulgaria | Военноморски Специален Отдел ("Naval special service") |
Nova Television | . | . |
| Chile | NCIS | AXN | . | . |
| Colombia | NCIS | AXN | . | Friday 8:00pm |
| Croatia | Navy CIS | Nova TV | . | Thursdays 11.15 pm |
| Czech Republic | Námořní vyšetřovací služba | TV Nova | February 21 2007 | Wednesday 22:30 CET |
| Denmark | Navy CIS | TV3, TV3+ | . | Monday-Friday at 14:15 and 15.10 at TV3+ Monday-Friday at 16.05 and 17.00 at TV3) CET |
| Finland | NCIS Rikostutkijat ("NCIS crime investigators") |
Nelonen | September 2 2006 | Tuesday 9:00pm EET |
| France | NCIS : enquêtes spéciales ("NCIS : special investigations") |
M6 | March 3 2004 | . |
| Germany | Navy CIS | Sat.1, Sat.1 HD | March 17 2005 | Thursday 21:15, Sunday 20:15 CET |
| Hungary | NCIS | TV 2 | October 17 2005 | Monday 9:00pm CET |
| Iceland | NCIS | Stöð 2 | . | Tuesday 8:55PM GMT |
| India | . | Star World | . | . |
| Ireland | . | wikipedia:RTE | . | 12:30am every Monday night/Tuesday morning. |
| Israel | אן-סי-איי-אס | The Hallmark Channel | . | . |
| Italy | Navy N.C.I.S. or NCIS: Unità Anticrimine | Rai 2, FoxCrime | . | Sunday and/or Monday 21:00 CET |
| Japan | NCIS: Navy Crime Investigation Team | FOX | . | . |
| Kosovo | NCIS: Navy Crime Investigation Team | Kohavision | . | . |
| Lithuania | Specialioji jūrų policijos tarnyba | LRT | . | . |
| Macedonia | Нејви | Sitel | . | Mondays 8:00PM |
| Malaysia | NCIS | Star World, 8TV | . | 8TV: Mondays 9:30PM |
| Netherlands | NCIS | Veronica/SBS 6 | . | Monday (Rerun) and Tuesday (New Episode) 20.30 CET |
| New Zealand | NCIS | TV3 | . | Tuesday 20:30 |
| Norway | NCIS | TV3 | . | . |
| Pakistan | . | Star World, The Hallmark Channel | . | Tuesdays at 23:00 Pakistan Standard Time |
| Philippines | . | RPN 9, Star World, Crime/Suspense | . | . |
| Poland | Agenci NCIS ("Agents of NCIS") | TVN | . | . |
| Portugal | Investigação Criminal ("Criminal Investigation") |
AXN | August 2005 | Wednesday 9.30 PM GMT |
| Serviço Naval de Investigação Criminal ("Criminal Investigation Naval Service") |
TVI | . | . | |
| Romania | NCIS: Anchetă militară ("NCIS: Military Investigation") | Prima TV (First run) and AXN (Re-runs) |
January 7 2007 | Sunday 9:30 PM EET Wednesday 9 PM EET, Saturday 8 PM EET |
| Quebec (Canada) | NCIS: Enquêtes spéciales ("NCIS : special investigations") |
Historia | . | . |
| Serbia | Маринци (Marines) | RTV Pink | . | Monday to Friday 12:00 PM |
| Slovakia | NCIS : Námorný Vyšetrovací Úrad ("NCIS : Navy Investigation Service") |
Markiza | . | . |
| Slovenia | Preiskovalci na delu: NCIS ("Investigators on work: NCIS") |
TV3 | . | . |
| South Africa | . | SABC 2 | . | . |
| Spain | Navy: investigación criminal ("Navy: criminal investigation") |
La Sexta, AXN | . | . |
| South Korea | . | XTM | . | . |
| Sweden | Navy CIS | TV3 | June 20 2004 | . Tuesdays 8:00 PM, rerun 6 PM Fridays. Season 1-6 Reruns, Monday-Thursday 6 Pm |
| Switzerland | NCIS : enquêtes spéciales ("NCIS : special investigations") |
TSR | . | . |
| Taiwan | NCIS 重返犯罪現場 ("NCIS - Return to the Crime Scene") |
PTS(Now under TBS) | . | . |
| Thailand | . | True Series | . | . |
| Turkey | NCIS | Dizimax | . | . |
| United Kingdom | NCIS | wikipedia:FOX UK | . | . |