It was a memorable evening for American NCIS fans simply tuning into CBS on Tuesday. First, the return of Michael Weatherly in the role of Anthony DiNozzo in NCIS: Los Angeles, more than ten years after his farewell to the Major Case Response Team. Then LL Cool J returned as Sam Hanna in the new spin-off NCIS: New York, three years after the conclusion of NCIS: Los Angeles. Finally, the return of Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the prequel spin-off NCIS: Origins, four years after his last appearance on the flagship series. All of this, probably even before the first broadcast on at least a couple of Italian networks. The result? The audience enjoyed it a great deal, as the viewing averages indicate.
NCIS: Ratings Rise as TV Series Return
The NCIS franchise has secured CBS the top spot on Tuesday night, with an average of 5.49 million viewers, a figure up 39% compared with last year’s premieres. Notably, the debut of NCIS: New York, seen in the 9:00 p.m. hour by 5.62 million viewers, up 53% year over year. The new spin-off has taken the place of NCIS: Origins, which from this autumn will occupy the 10:00 p.m. slot. NCIS: New York’s episode was the franchise’s most-watched in more than two years, precisely since the finale of NCIS’s twenty-first season in May 2024.
Even the flagship, now in its twenty-fourth season, improved its performance by 21%, drawing 6.45 million viewers. For Origins, meanwhile, audiences stood at 4.39 million, up 20% from last year’s premiere and up 56% compared to the debut of NCIS: Sydney (which will return in the second half of the season) in the same 10:00 p.m. slot the year prior.
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