# NCIS (2003)

> A team of federal special agents investigates any crime with a link to Navy and Marine Corps personnel.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4392

## Facts

- Seasons: 24
- Episodes: 513
- Episode runtime: 44 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Don McGill, Donald P. Bellisario
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Mark Harmon, Sean Murray, Michael Weatherly, Wilmer Valderrama, Katrina Law, Cote De Pablo, Brian Dietzen, Sasha Alexander
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364845/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, wry, steady, tense

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate NCIS as a dependable, well-crafted procedural whose ensemble chemistry and steady case-of-the-week formula have sustained it across two decades.

## Synopsis

NCIS (2003-present) is a US network crime procedural created by Don McGill and Donald P. Bellisario for CBS. Its protagonist, special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), leads a team of federal investigators who take on murders, espionage, terrorism and stolen submarines whenever a case touches Navy or Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank. Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) work the field alongside forensic experts such as Dr. Donald Ducky Mallard (David McCallum) and Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette). The engine is the race to solve each case while the team's personal bonds are tested, with each episode built around a fresh crime, interrogations and forensic breakthroughs. The show runs as a twenty-four season serialized-adjacent procedural, mostly case of the week with recurring character arcs across seasons. Set in present-day Virginia and Washington, it carries a steady, competent, sometimes wry tone, balancing grim crime scenes with warmth among colleagues. Fans of Law & Order, Bones and Criminal Minds will find resonance in its procedural rhythm, forensic detail and dependable team dynamics.

## Shows like NCIS

- [CSI: NY (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/2332)
- [Hawaii Five-0 (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/30185)
- [Bones (2005)](https://ember.film/tv/1803)
- [NCIS: Origins (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/159085)
- [Magnum P.I. (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/68458)
- [CSI: Miami (2002)](https://ember.film/tv/1524)
- [NCIS: New Orleans (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/54733)
- [NCIS: Hawai'i (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/103203)
- [Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/57052)
- [JAG (1995)](https://ember.film/tv/4159)

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