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NCIS has evolved a lot over its 23 seasons, especially as we've watched so many cast members like Mark Harmon leave. However, one thing that hasn't changed as the show prepares to return to the 2026 TV schedule is those walls in HQ. For over two decades, they've been very orange, and now a producer has finally explained why that's the case.
The orange squad walls have become a staple on NCIS over the years, but I didn't realize there was a whole story behind why the show used them in the first place. I do know that as a viewer, you can't help but notice them. While producer Mark Horowitz was on the podcast NCIS: Partners & Probies, he shared his thoughts on the walls and why they're so iconic... and hated on by people on set.
I’ve heard a lot of complaints. People get sick. ‘Do I have to work in this orange room anymore?’ Which I think gives our show a certain distinction because there’s no other show that, you know, when you’re clicking through, and you see that orange wall, you know what show you’re watching.
There are a lot of shows that have a distinct feature that sets them apart from others. For instance, Love Is Blind uses gold wine goblets, and NCIS has very orange walls for the squad room, offices, and hallways at HQ. Even though it seems like too much of the color sometimes, you can definitely tell what show you’re watching as soon as you click onto an episode.
The reason for the orange is deeper than just being distinctive. Horowitz recalled the show’s early days when it was a backdoor pilot on JAG, and he explained the work he did alongside Don Bellisario and Don McGill to bring this story to life. When it came to developing the sets, they found the perfect building, and it came complete with these wild orange walls.
Don was looking for a space, and in his mind originally, that squad room was a small space. It was not a large space. It was a small, kind of techie, kind of thing. And we went out and went looking at some various locations. This is for the spinoff pilot. We hadn’t built a set yet, and we went to just the old Epson building in El Segundo, and it looked a lot like our squad room. It had actually had a big pyramid ceiling that was translucent, and the light came down, and kind of focused on the center of the room, and the walls around it kind of fell off. So, even from a lighting standpoint, it had that feeling, and it was this color, and that’s where we shot the scenes for the spinoff episodes. If you watch those last two JAG episodes, you’ll see that set.
So, this is the full story behind the color, and it's one of the many great BTS facts about NCIS we've gotten over the years. Yes, now I want to go back and rewatch the JAG episodes with a Paramount+ subscription to see what the squad room looked like in those backdoor pilots.
It sounds like they just happened to find that building, and everything fell into place. I'd imagine if they hadn't discovered it, the entire squad room would have been pretty different (and probably less '70s looking). Luckily, it all worked out:
Then when the show was sold, we had to build something that ended up looking a lot like that, and we did. And that is why these particular colors were chosen.
I would like to spend one final minute pointing out the squad room and all of HQ has seen a few interior explosions during the course of NCIS' run. Still, the orange has remained. Will the squad room, hallways and offices ever get a major paint job? Clearly there are some complainers out there who would love to see it, but if I had to put money down, I'd bet the orange will stay as long as the series does.
We know it's not going anywhere. NCIS was renewed for Season 24, and it will return in the fall. Now that this entire saga has been pointed out, my new dream is for the orange walls to be acknowledged on the show proper.
