NCIS is such a massive franchise on the 2026 TV schedule, and it's been a mainstay on television for decades. So, it's hard to imagine a time when there were battles and questions about it. However, back in the early days, there were. In fact, there was one fight that happened between CBS and CSI over NCIS's title.
NCIS co-creator Don McGill appeared on the NCIS: Partners & Probies podcast, where he told hosts and NCIS stars Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover how the show’s title came to be. Even though it is only four letters long, it evidently became a pretty big problem for a different show whose title is only three letters long:
The story of NCIS was when we were launching NCIS, CSI called CBS and said, ‘You can’t call that show NCIS.’ It was a whole fight.
Considering how similar NCIS and CSI are when it comes to the title, it makes sense that the latter would make a big deal out of it, especially since they were on the same network. Plus, CSI was only a few seasons in by the time NCIS launched, so the series was still trying to find its footing before it went on to top the TV ratings. So the team at NCIS had to go through a couple of title variations during the show’s early years before eventually landing on the title that would stick for over 20 years:
That’s why it was Navy NCIS for the first year. CSI basically said, ‘You can’t do this.’ That’s why it was Navy NCIS, and then the next year it was Navy Criminal Investigative Service spelled out. And then it became NCIS once the show was kind of launched and established.
It’s pretty insane knowing that the spinoff of JAG could’ve been stuck with Navy NCIS, which is saying Navy Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The second one wouldn’t have been as bad, since CSI’s full title is CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. It might have followed in CSI’s footsteps, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as close as NCIS and CSI. However, NCIS definitely fits better. It’s simple, it’s short, and it’s easier to say and tack a spinoff title onto.
I am definitely thankful that CSI ultimately backed off when NCIS was really starting to forge its own path, because it’s hard to imagine the franchise having any other name. Plus, Navy NCIS: Origins and Navy NCIS: New York don't have the same ring to them as just NCIS: Origins and NCIS: New York.
The NCIS franchise will be back on the 2026-2027 schedule with a total of four shows airing throughout the year. So there will be plenty more of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, just not the entire name, and fans can watch most of the franchise now with a Paramount+ subscription.
