NCIS will return to the 2026 TV schedule on Tuesday, October 6th, and it's bringing a big dose of nostalgia along with it. Granted, I hadn't really thought about it until Michael Weatherly brought it up and pointed out that we have returning alumni from past CBS shows appearing this season.
Weatherly, who will return as Tony DiNozzo in NCIS Season 24, is not the only familiar face we'll be seeing on Tuesday nights this fall. He laid it all out in a recent interview with TV Insider and pointed out all the legendary talent coming to primetime if you're a fan of long-running crime procedurals:
I think CBS is building an incredible Tuesday night. You have LL Cool J and Scott Caan and the rest of the cast they’ve put together [on] NCIS: New York Then you have Mark Harmon returning to on camera in a regular way in Origins, which is going to be just a huge resonant thunderclap to fans. … If you look at Mark Harmon is the OG and LL Cool J is the OG before there were OG, I’m just happy that they invited me to this party.
I've been writing about LL Cool J's big NCIS: New York debut and Mark Harmon appearing in NCIS: Origins all summer, but I never put this together. Each series has at least one former NCIS icon back in the saddle, so no matter which you watch, it's going to feel like a throwback.
It's not just a reunion for NCIS either, as Scott Caan will also star in NCIS: New York after his long stint in Hawaii Five-0. This Fall season feels like a love letter to longtime fans of CBS primetime, and I'm curious how many people have just set aside their entire Tuesday evening to watch it all. My guess is CBS executives are banking on people watching all night, which feels like a distinct possibility with this all-star lineup.
To speak specifically to Michael Weatherly's return as Tony DiNozzo, NCIS will waste no time getting him back in the mix. He's pictured in images for the Season 24 premiere, which will address the wild cliffhanger in which McGee's son pulled a gun on Nick Torres. I'm curious to see what Tony will have to say about all that, and how he'll factor into the adventure.
NCIS has already given fans some information on what to expect, and they may want to fire up their Paramount+ subscription. NCIS: Tony & Ziva will be acknowledged in the series, with the adventure being set about a year before DiNozzo sets up his security firm in Washington, D.C., in Season 24 of NCIS. That experience, paired with becoming a father and years of experience as an agent, will give us a more mature Tony than what we saw in previous seasons.
As mentioned, NCIS kicks off on CBS in early October, followed by the new New York spinoff and Origins as well. I can hardly contain my excitement as the weeks wind down, so it's a good thing there's plenty of other fall television popping up that's worth watching!
