This 22-year-old series is the most popular crime procedural streaming

For 22 years, NCIS has thrilled viewers with its team of skilled investigators who investigate, solve and put an end to some of the biggest crimes related to the Navy. And for 22 years, the show has not run out of steam. New episodes air on CBS in their long-running Tuesday night slot. In addition, NCIS remains one of the most widely used proceduresespecially on Paramount+. The show regularly appears in the streamer’s global top ten, being one of the most consistent alongside the long-running animated comedy. South Park. The TV rating company Nielsen ranks NCIS second among the most listened to acquired programs during the week of November 3 to 9, with 770 million minutes viewed. It is only surpassed by the medical heavyweight Grey’s Anatomy at 866 million minutes.

NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) aired its pilot episode on September 23, 2003, beginning as a spin-off of the legal military drama I (Judge Advocate General). The series was not a success from the start, struggling for the first few years before exploding in popularity. It went on to spawn numerous spinoffs, becoming the largest television franchise in the world. THE NCIS-verse has aired over 1,000 episodes across seven shows, with the mothership scheduled to air its 500th episode on March 17, 2026.

“NCIS” celebrates 500 episodes produced in 22 years

In today’s television landscape, where shows are canceled before the first season has even finished airing, 500 episodes is no small feat. NCIS has survived casting departures, budget changes, schedule changes, etc. It’s not lost on the actor Brian Dietzen how important celebrating their 500th episode in early December was. He recently told TV Insider:

“You kind of lose the forest for the trees because we’re going up there doing scene by scene and episode by episode trying to make good shows, so you don’t really understand the whole thing until someone says, ‘OK, everyone stop. Let’s stop. Let’s eat cake and talk about what this means for 500.’ It’s a pretty rare sight now that I look at the television landscape. You say, “Man, there aren’t a lot of shows that do that kind of thing. “So I feel really humbled and humbled to have been a part of this.”

A new episode is broadcast on Tuesday December 16 in which Christmas is coming. NCIS. The logline from Season 23, Episode 9, “Heaven and Wild,” teases: “McGee (Sean Murray) and Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) try to recover a stolen truck filled with toys for the Navy’s annual Christmas drive while the truth about Parker’s (Gary Cole) the mother is finally revealed. Also, Knight (Katrina Law) is given his first NCIS: Elite mission, which involves finding a former member of the team.” Who is the former member of the team being sought? NCIS Season 23 also features Rocky Caroll (Léon Vance) and Diona Reasonover (Kasie Hines).

Watch new episodes on CBS Tuesdays or stream on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.