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Can fans ever catch a break? Now that Season 21 is over and done with, viewers have their sights set on NCIS Season 22. But when does it come back and who’s in the cast next season? Well, one special agent may be missing from the upcoming season — and so will a fan-favorite relationship.
NCIS is CBS’ drama series following the personal and professional lives of a team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (also known as the NCIS), a federal law enforcement a part of the United States Department of the Navy that investigates criminal activities involving the Navy and the United States Marine Corps, as well as their families. The series, which premiered in 2003, is part of a multi-show franchise also including NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawai’i, NCIS: Sydney, and the upcoming NCIS: Origins.
NCIS was renewed by CBS for a 22nd season in April 2024. The announcement came amid the cancellation of spin-off NCIS: Hawai’i, which ended with its third and final season on May 6, 2024. (Spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles was also canceled last year and ended after its 10th season in May 2023.) Though it seems like the NCIS universe is getting smaller and smaller, there is good news. CBS announced that a new spin-off, NCIS: Origins, following a younger Leroy Jethro Gibbs from the original series, will premiere in 2024. Another spin-off featuring Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo’s Tony DiNozzo and Ziva Davis is also in the works for Paramount Plus.
With new NCIS spin-offs coming left and right, there’s a lot to look forward to for NCIS Season 22. But when does it return and what will the cast look like? Read on for what we know about NCIS Season 22 so far, including the exit and breakup that the series is laying the groundwork for.
When does NCIS return for Season 22?
NCIS returns for Season 22 for CBS’ fall 2024-2025 season. The series will air on Mondays from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET and PT following The Neighborhood and new series, Poppa’s House. Following NCIS will be spin-off series NCIS: Origins, a prequel about Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon on the original series), which air on Mondays from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Though, at the time of writing this, CBS hasn’t announced NCIS‘ exact premiere date, it’s believed that the series will return around late September 2024 based on past season premiere dates.
Who’s in the NCIS Season 22 cast?
As of writing this, the NCIS Season 22 cast hasn’t been confirmed. However, it’s expected that most of the Season 21 cast will return. The NCIS Season 21 cast included Sean Murray (Timothy McGee); Rocky Carroll (Leon Vance); Brian Dietzen (Dr. Jimmy Palmer); Wilmer Valderrama (Nicholas Torres); Diona Reasonover (Kasie Hines); Katrina Law (Jessica Knight); and Gary Cole (Alden Parker.)
Of the NCIS Season 21 cast, the cast members speculated to be on the bubble when it comes to their return are Law and Cole, whose characters’ futures were left uncertain in the NCIS Season 21 finale, which saw Parker and Knight in danger when a ship they’re investigating starts to sink and flood with water. NCIS also hinted that Knight was leaving the series in a scene in which Vance offers her the newly open position of Chief REACT Training Officer, which she applied for when her old team died. Knight tells Vance that she wants to think about the offer, but doesn’t want to break up the NCIS team. Vance, for his part, tells Knight that he already talked to Parker about the offer and wants to keep her on the team, but also respects her choice either way.
“[Knight] finds herself at a crossroads, both professionally and personally,” Carroll told TVLine before the NCIS Season 21 finale. He continued, “By the time we get to the end of this episode, Special Agent Knight is going to have to make some hard decisions, and the audience should stand by, because you’ll get those answers.”
Carroll also teased how Knight’s journey could end her relationship with Palmer, who she started dating in Season 20 but showed issues with Season 21, Episode 5, “The Plan,” when Palmer’s meeting with Knight’s father doesn’t go as planned. “[Palmer] is now realizing that whatever this is they’ve had, it may come to an end,” he said.
Law also told TVLine about how the issues in Knight and Palmer’s relationship could lead to a split. “Ever since Knight forgot to introduce Palmer to her father, there have been some issues that have been happening off-screen,” Law said. “I think both of them have been doing some soul searching to figure out what direction they would like to go — and if they’re go to be going in the same direction at the same time.” Dietzen added, “There’s some bubbling. There’s some stuff bubbling to the surface.”