NCIS Franchise Delivers Strong Tuesday Ratings
The NCIS franchise returned to CBS on Tuesday night with a 39% audience boost compared to last year's premiere, averaging 5.49 million viewers across the lineup. The network finished first in the Tuesday primetime window, driven by the launch of NCIS: New York and the continued strength of the original series.[S1][S2][S3]
The debut of NCIS: New York, which features the return of LL Cool J as Sam Hanna plus Scott Caan and Nick Schaeffer, pulled in 5.62 million viewers during the 9 p.m. slot. This marks a 53% gain compared to the same period last year, when NCIS: Origins held that time slot.[S1]
The flagship NCIS, now in its 24th season, drew 6.45 million viewers for its season opener, making it the show's most-watched episode in over two years, dating back to the Season 21 finale in May 2024. The viewership also rose 21% from the prior year.[S1]
NCIS: Origins, which aired its Season 3 premiere at 10 p.m., tallied 4.39 million viewers. Although it was the least-watched of the three shows, it improved 20% over its year-ago premiere in the 9 p.m. slot and 56% over the year-ago time-period premiere of NCIS: Sydney.[S1]
Milestones and Returning Stars
Each of the three NCIS series had notable milestones. Besides LL Cool J and Scott Caan coming back to the franchise, Michael Weatherly returned to the original show this season as Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo Jr. Meanwhile, on NCIS: Origins, Mark Harmon joined the cast as Leroy Jethro Gibbs.[S1]
