Why NCIS Shows Will Be Returning To CBS Later Than We Thought

Like the rest of its network TV brethren, the NCIS franchise went on radio silence for the holiday season, with all three CBS dramas hitting the hibernation button in December. (The Origins and Sydney spinoffs’ winter finales aired the week prior to the mothership’s midseason capper.) The expectation was for all three shows to hit the 2026 TV schedule anew in late February, but fans will actually be waiting even longer now.

When CBS revealed its winter premiere schedule back in November, the plan was for NCIS, NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney to rise up like phoenixes again on Tuesday, February 24. However, the network was more or less cornered into shifting its impending schedule thanks to the Prez.

The Latest State Of The Union Is Now Set For February 24, 2026

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced on January 7 that Donald Trump would be settling in to deliver this year's first State of the Union address on February 24, 2026. As TV audiences are well aware at this point, any time the White House schedules a SOTU speech, broadcast TV all but shuts down for the night.

Some networks occasionally keep new programming set for the third primetime hour, but themed blocks are harder to break up. Thus, CBS is choosing to keep the trio of NCIS dramas linked up to keep its three-premiere night intact.

The NCIS Franchise Will Return On Tuesday, March 3

Fans will have waited nearly three months to learn what happens after NCIS: Origins' explosive midseason finale, as it and the other series will be dropping their winter debuts on the revised date of March 3, 2026. So there's still a bit of a wait to go, and we still don't quite know what to expect from any of the episodes.

We do know the name of NCIS' next Season 23 installment will be "Army of One," though the context behind that title is unclear. That said, we did learn some of what to expect to see on the flagship for the rest of the season, with star Brian Dietzen telling CinemaBlend the AI thread will continue:

If we start seeing AI plotlines on NCIS: Origins, that's when you know something really went wrong with the timeline, and we need to go back and fix it. But that'll be relegated to a future NCIS: Skynet spinoff.

Unfortunately, even though this trio of NCIS shows will be back on the air a week later than expected, we still won’t be getting a return from NCIS: Tony & Ziva, which was canceled by Paramount+ in December without clear reasoning (even if fans think they have the answer). Perhaps we’ll get some kind of follow-up info about that fam in one of NCIS’ back-half eps.

Paramount+: from $7.99 a month/$59.99 a year
Get all the NCIS episodes you can possibly watch with Paramount+. The Essential plan is $7.99 a month, while the ad-free Premium option at $12.99 a month, so there's plenty to choose from. But if you want to watch your favorite shows and movies, and save some money doing so, sign up for an annual plan.

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All the current NCIS series are available to stream in full via Paramount+ subscription. Be sure to set those calendars for March 3, so that you’re not bamboozled by the POTUS when you’re expecting to see Sean Murray’s McGee.