NCIS Season 21: Release Date, Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know

In 2003, the CBS military legal drama JAG aired two episodes that acted as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series, and 20 years later, NCIS is one of the most popular scripted dramas around the world. NCIS is a crime procedural with a unique twist – all of its criminal investigations are related to the military. Since its debut, it’s had three successful spin-off series of its own and one that didn’t come to fruition. The first international spin-off of the show, NCIS: Sydney, aired season one in November 2023.

Over two decades of episodes, there have been a lot of character departures for NCIS, but NCIS season 21 is expected to see much of the main cast the audience has known for the previous two seasons remain. Storylines are expected to expand the history and relationships of those characters, some of whom have only been a part of the NCIS family for a few years. NCIS season 21 is facing a bit of a delay, but that will only lead to more fans being interested in what the show has in store for those characters.

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The Latest NCIS Season 21 News

A Trailer For Season 21 Is Released

Hot on the heels of the announcement of the prequel series, NCIS: Origins, the latest news for the original series sees the first trailer for NCIS season 21 released. The short trailer released exclusively on social media is the standard teaser fare and shows off a host of exciting cases and even teases a bit of Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) being arrested on murder charges. The snippet also hints at a tribute to Ducky actor David McCallum, who had retired from the series before passing away in 2023 at the age of 90.

NCIS Season 21 Release Date

NCIS Returns In February 2024

NCIS season 21 was originally announced to debut in the fall of 2023, but it was ultimately delayed by the Hollywood strikes which caused many programs to miss their fall releases. The current release date announced by CBS is Monday Feb 12, 2024, at 9pm – and there should be no further delays.

NCIS Season 21 Cast

Which Cast Members Are Returning?

The NCIS season 21 cast is expected to stay intact from the previous season. Though Wilmer Valderrama’s Nick Torres was left in a precarious position at the end of season 20, the trailer has confirmed he will be back. Sadly, the NCIS season 21 cast will be missing a series mainstay – David McCallum as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. McCallum passed away in September 2023 aged 90, leaving behind him a storied career spanning decades.

The NCIS season 21 cast will include all the main cast members from season 20, including:

Though Mark Harmon left the series four episodes into season 19, long-time fans are sure to wonder if Harmon’s Gibbs could return to the NCIS season 21 cast in a guest capacity. The celebrated star isn’t done with the NCIS franchise and his recently-announced prequel series, NCIS: Origins, will not only tell the story of Gibb’s early years in the service but feature Harmon as narrator. It’s possible that the NCIS veteran could show up on the main series to promote the new spinoff.

NCIS Season 21 Story

What Will Happen In Season 21?

Like most crime procedurals, NCIS works on a case-of-the-week format, but it will typically include longer story arcs for the season as well, and the NCIS season 21 story should pick up a few threads from the previous season. One of those is the cliffhanger involving Agent Torres. Season 20 left Torres with a gun leveled at a former foe, but the trailer for season 21 shows the agent has even more trouble. The overarching storyline for the upcoming season is going to involve Torres being arrested for murder.

In a much less dark storyline, season 20 also saw Palmer confess that he’s in love with Knight in front of the team, so the NCIS season 21 story will likely see more development in their relationship. That probably won’t take a front seat while the team is busy on investigations. Still, the series has done a good job at threading relationship storylines through the larger mysteries in the past, so NCIS season 21 will be no different.

NCIS Season 21 Trailer

The First Look At Season 21

Just a few short weeks before the series returns on February 12, 2024, the first trailer for NCIS season 21 was released on the official NCIS social media accounts. Introduced by actor Sean Murray, the brief snippet not only reveals explosive action and thrilling mysteries, but also teases the season’s new overarching storyline, Torres’ arrest for murder. On top of that, a touching voice over from the late David McCallum hints at the upcoming Ducky tribute episode which will follow the season premiere.