NCIS, the number one scripted drama on television, has been renewed for another season. Here is everything we know about NCIS season 20.
Warning! SPOILERS for NCIS season 19.
Here is everything we know about NCIS season 20. The hit CBS series has been the number one broadcast series on television for 12 of its last 13 seasons, and now it’s returning for yet another action-packed season. Its 20th season makes NCIS the third-longest running scripted, non-animated series on television, surpassed only by Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which is now on season 24.
NCIS follows the agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a law enforcement agency tasked with investigating and preventing crime for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The ratings for NCIS started off slowly in the first few seasons, but the series finally shot through the ranks and has been one of the top five most watched shows on television since NCIS season 6. Though NCIS season 19 has received some backlash for its noticeable lack of Special Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon) — who has been a staple since NCIS season 1 — it was still strong enough to guarantee one more season.
NCIS is only one of the series that CBS has renewed to fill out their Fall 2022 schedule. Both of the series’ spinoffs, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: Hawaii, received the green light to return for another season. Other CBS programs — including Young Sheldon, which just wrapped up season 5, and the new comedy, Ghosts — will be airing alongside NCIS in the Fall 2022 line-up. Some series, like Magnum P.I, weren’t quite as lucky, as the network also brought down some recent cancellations.
NCIS Season 20 Renewal
CBS has officially renewed NCIS for its 20th season. The season renewal was confirmed by the network in May 2022, alongside its spinoff shows, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: Hawaii. With the show retaining its position as the number one scripted series on television for another year — and bringing in 7.2 million viewers for the season 19 finale — it’s no surprise that CBS decided to renew NCIS for another season.
NCIS Season 20 Cast: Who Will Return?
NCIS has had many characters over the span of its 20-year course. While there is speculation that some fan favorites may return — including Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) — these names have yet to be confirmed for NCIS season 20. Those who have been confirmed include Special Agents Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), Alden Parker (Gary Cole), Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), and Jessica Knight (Katrina Law), as well as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum), Dr. Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen), Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover), and more familiar faces.
NCIS Season 20 Story: What Season 19’s Ending Sets Up
NCIS season 19 wrapped up with some serious twists. The team had to solve the kidnapping of Parker’s ex-wife, Vivian Kolchak, and investigations into her disappearance revealed that the Raven — who nearly killed Jimmy and Kasie earlier in the season — has returned. Special Agent Alden Parker is likely walking right into danger in season 20. As Parker and Vivian are leaving to lay low after he was framed for murder, Vivian can be seen covertly texting, “It’s done. I have him.” This text foreshadows the danger awaiting Parker in NCIS season 20 and implies that Vivian may be in cahoots with the Raven. Jimmy and Jessica’s relationship also took a big step forward in the season 19 finale, making it likely that this budding romance will play a part in season 2o’s storyline.
NCIS Season 20 Release Date Prediction
NCIS season 20 is set to return with the slate of CBS’s fall line-up.
NEXT: Why Playing An Autopsy Dead Body Is So Bad
People are ‘dying’ to be an autopsy cadaver on the hit CBS show NCIS – but actors need a strong constitution to play the role properly.
Playing an autopsy dead body on NCIS is a bad experience – in fact, it could be the worst job on TV, according to some of the CBS show’s stars. NCIS, originally a spinoff of JAG, is currently in its 19th season and has seen many changes of characters over the years—Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs recently left after Mark Harmon exited the program as a series regular. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, who appeared with Gibbs in the pilot episode, “Yankee White”, left back in season 13.
But whatever happens to the line-up, one thing that is more or less guaranteed on any NCIS episode is a dead body or two. Any that are discovered in suspicious circumstances will see the team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service grab their gear and work together to solve the case. After the team — including special agents Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), and Jessica Knight (Katrina Law), along with current gaffer Alden Parker (Gary Cole), who did not replace Gibbs, work the crime scene, the dead bodies are sent back to NCIS headquarters autopsy for Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) to work his magic.
Viewers who have wondered whether these corpses are fake or real may be surprised to hear that many of them are indeed played by in-the-flesh actors. On the face of it, the gig seems like an easy role to undertake, but in reality it is a lot more involved than simply lying still. Over the years, some of the CBS show’s stars have admitted that it is quite an uncomfortable and difficult part to get right, and lying on a cold metal table in the depths of the autopsy room is more than just about “playing dead” – especially on a long filming day.
Executive producer Mark Horowitz revealed on a behind the scenes episode entitled “Inside NCIS Autopsy: Bodies of Work”: “People are dying to be dead people on this show. When we can, we like to use a real person to play the dead body because even though the prosthetic bodies are truly remarkable — you can get very close to them, and they look completely realistic — there’s something about real skin, the way light bounces off of it which you can do with makeup that just feels more real.” This fact is likely doubly true for those members of the cadaver cast who weren’t hired specifically for this role as an extra. For example, no viewer will likely forget the shock death of Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander) back in season 2, when she spoke to Dr Donald “Ducky” Mallard from the grave. Mark continues: “I tell them, I am very upfront, I say it’s horrible, this is the worst job you’ll ever have… I try to root out the faint of heart as early as possible. And if they’re going to be in one of these sliding doors we talk all about claustrophobia.”
Mark is not the only member of the team to deter potential candidates. Dietzen, who plays Ducky’s successor, added his thoughts about the rather unwelcoming environment. The actor stated, “You’re on a cold, metal table almost naked, with a very hot light shining on your private area. And you have to hold your breath and not move at all when we are filming.” (via The Columbus Dispatch). McCallum echoed this sentiment during an interview. He said: “These poor actors and actresses come along and lie on a steel table, and so our main concern with the bodies is to keep them warm, keep them happy, and let them go home in one piece.” (via CBS News).
While the NCIS role sounds like a bad gig, for some actors, the role has helped them conquer a life-long phobia. Actor Walter Fauntleroy, who played Petty Officer Lamar Finn (season 13, episode 16, “Loose Cannons”), “overcame claustrophobia as he was moved in and out of the autopsy room’s cadaver drawer.”
