Everything We Know So Far About 'NCIS' Season 20

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We have all the details on the start date, which cast will return in 2022, who left, who died, who's joining and more.

Katrina Law, Gary Cole, Sean Murray, and Wilmer Valderrama
Katrina Law, Gary Cole, Sean Murray, and Wilmer Valderrama

Despite the departure of Mark Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS still managed to finish the 19th season as the No. 1 broadcast series, which naturally made it a no-brainer to be picked up for a 20th season by CBS.

NCIS showrunner Steven D. Binder exclusively teased Parade.com about what is to come in season 20 saying, “We’ll be seeing their non-work life a little more. I think one of the cores of the show is the cases. The show’s called NCIS, it’s about the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. But anyone who watches the show knows that it’s really about the people on the show.”

He added, “I always tell the new writers, your cases have to work, they need to be funny, they need to be interesting, they need to be in a new arena, they need to be clear, they need a twist, and they need to be exciting to the end. And nobody cares about any of it. What they care about is the people on the show and their history. So, you’ve got to get that straight so we can then dance in the realm that people care about.”

Here is everything we know about NCIS season 20 so far, including this post from Wilmer Valderrama on the start of production! He wrote: "On set with Agent Knight.. we are swinging away on episode one!.. big premiere."

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When does NCIS return?

The series will return for its 20th season on Monday, Sept. 19.

What time is NCIS on?

NCIS will air on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Which NCIS cast members are returning for season 20?

Gary Cole (Special Agent Alden Parker)

Sean Murray (Special Agent Timothy McGee)

Related:It’s All in the Family for Sean Murray when His Daughter Cay Ryan Murray Guest Stars on NCIS

Wilmer Valderrama (Special Agent Nicholas “Nick” Torres)

Next,Is Wilmer Valderrama Leaving His Role as Special Agent Torres on NCIS?

Brian Dietzen (Dr. Jimmy Palmer)

Related: There's Romance in the Air on NCIS! Brian Dietzen on the Jimmy Palmer-Jessica Knight Affair!

Diona Reasonover (Forensic Scientist Kasie Hines)

Katrina Law (Special Agent Jessica Knight)

Related: Katrina Law Says Fans Will Love the 'Amazing Chemistry' Between Jessica and Ernie on the NCIS-NCIS: Hawai'i Crossover Episode

Rocky Carroll (NCIS Director Leon Vance)

David McCallum (Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard)

Who will join the NCIS cast in season 20?

Teri Polo
Teri Polo

Teri Polo

Teri Polo will play Vivian Kolchak, Parker’s ex-wife, and a former FBI agent who left the FBI following their divorce and took a Defense Department job as a paranormal investigator. She is set to first appear in the season 19 finale and then return sporadically in season 20.

Related: NCIS Adds a New Recurring Character Opposite Special Agent Alden Parker

Which NCIS cast members left the show in season 19?

Mark Harmon

That would be Mark Harmon, who exited his role as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and was the last original series regular. Gibbs had been having a difficult time ever since he was suspended for beating up the man who was abusing dogs, and when a case took him to Alaska and some great fishing, he finally said goodbye.

“I’m not going back, Tim. I’m not going home. I am thinking I don’t have another boat left to build. Whatever I’m feeling, this sense of peace, I have not had this since Shannon and Kelly died and I’m not ready to let it go. I could not have imagined anyone better to have watched my back from the past 18 years than you, Tim. I love you, man.”

Note of clarification: Sean Murray did appear as Special Agent Timothy McGee in season one but he wasn’t a series regular at that point.

Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon

Will Mark Harmon ever return to NCIS?

It is definitely a possibility. As showrunner Steven D. Binder recently reiterated at PaleyFest to Parade.com what he said when Harmon initially left, “Never count Leroy Jethro Gibbs out. What the future will hold I can’t say, but I wouldn’t count anybody out, dead or alive, on the show.”

Related: ‘I’m Not Saying This for a Tease!’ NCIS Star Sean Murray Says There’s a Real ‘Possibility’ of Return for Gibbs and DiNozzo

Will Michael Weatherly ever return to NCIS?

The fact that Michael Weatherly wrapped up production on his Bull series means he, too, could pop in for a visit from Paris to fill us in on what he and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) and their daughter, Tali, have been doing.

TVLine put that question to Binder, and he said, “Wouldn’t that be great?” But from there, he turned skeptical. “When [Michael] left NCIS, he said to me, ‘I am never going to do network television again.' He had just had some kids, and the hours are so long… but then this Bull thing landed in his lap, and again he was working like a fiend. So I suspect — forgetting Tony DiNozzo for a minute — that Michael Weatherly is on vacation. I’ve known him for a while and I think he needs to chillax and go someplace tropical. I haven’t spoken to him about that but we’ve talked over the years, and that’s my guess.”

<p>Photo: Robert Voets/CBS</p>

Photo: Robert Voets/CBS

Will there be a crossover with NCIS: Los Angeles or NCIS: Hawai'i?

That is a definite yes. The casts of NCIS and NCIS: Hawaii crossover in a special event for their respective 20th and second seasons when both series return for the fall season. The two-hour back-to-back episodes have both NCIS teams on a hunt for a dangerous suspect that unveils a complex network and a larger sinister plan that will take several members of the D.C. team to Hawaii in a race to thwart the next large-scale attack against RIMPAC (The Rim of the Pacific Exercises), the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise.

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Related: See the First Pics from the NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i Fall Premiere Crossover Event!

What does NCIS stand for?

When the series premiered, it was originally called Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which was later shortened to NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and then, once everyone knew what NCIS stands for, the series simply became NCIS.

How to watch and stream NCIS season 19 on TV and online

New episodes of NCIS will air Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. You can also watch on Paramount+.

Where can I catch up on previous seasons of NCIS?

Previous seasons of NCIS are available on Paramount+, Netflix, and in reruns on USA Network.

Next, Find Out the Secret Past Gary Cole's NCIS Character Alden Parker Has Been Hiding