Amidst a narrowing production window with the strikes stretching out to its fifth month of negotiations,
Will NCIS Season 21 provide us with a full-fledged season, or can we expect a 13-episode season?
Much of the recent developments surrounding the actual episode count of Season 21 remain under speculation, as there has been no formal confirmation regarding the episode numbers for the new season. So we remained shrouded in mystery until a formal confirmation from their side is underway, and all predictions made forth are all but predictions and hold no cemented reality. However, we are here to speculate and provide you with clarity while we await Season 21 of NCIS.
With all the primetime fall 2023 releases being pushed back to mid-2024 and the SAG-AFTRA strike not reaching an impasse, it gives the production houses a very small wiggle room for production to take off and for post-production to wrap up just in time for a mid-2024 release with a full 22 episode season.
Hence, it is more feasible if the episode count has been cut down to 13-15 episodes. Although it will count as a bite-sized season, on the bright side, it can result in a supersized Season 22 if there is one. It is imperative to note that all this is just guesswork at the moment, and no formal confirmation has been made regarding the episode count of the new season, so stay tuned as we will update all the new information here.
Now that we got this out of the way let us focus on other titbits of NCIS Season 21.
NCIS Season 21 Will Not Be Airing In 2023: Why?
Every year, as the leaves turn into vivid hues of coral and amber, we brew ourselves warm pumpkin spice lattes, tune into CBS, and binge-watch fresh seasons of the grandest scripted shows. This year is different. The fall series calendars are empty or are being frantically altered to match current scenarios, or reruns of the previous seasons are being used to fill up the void in order to give the viewers something to reminisce about.
Why, you ask? Well, right about when a domino effect was initiated and resulted in a series of high-demand shows being revived for newer seasons, the WGA strikes took shape in May 2023. While some already had a headstart at the production process, such as Stranger Things, Silo, and others, some other shows like Blue Bloo never got to witness the writers’ inks etch storylines onto their scripts.
Within a month, SAG-AFTRA voiced in with WGA, resulting in a five-month-long double strike. While the WGA strike ended on September 27, 2023, the SAG-AFTRA strike still continues to this day. With no scripts ready for Season 21 of NCIS and no actors to film the sequences, CBS, much like its competitors, succumbed to releasing their fall 2023 schedules anyway, predicting that the strike would dissipate by July.
However, the channel was soon made to face the grave error of this decision and alter the schedule after two long months. Other competitor channels also followed. They updated that CBS will not air the new Season of Blue Bloods this fall. Instead, a unanimous decision was reached by the network to incorporate a 20th Anniversary rerun of the show on the CBS network and have picked the slot on Mondays, 9/8c, to broadcast them. Check out the new fall primetime show calendar from Twitter.
Mark your calendars! 🗓 The CBS Fall Premiere dates have been set! 🍂 pic.twitter.com/BbLDZ5V2e7
— CBS (@CBS) August 3, 2023
So, if not 2023, when can we predict its arrival?
NCIS Season 21 Arrival: A Prediction
While the following prediction that we will make is not set in stone, it will provide the nervous viewers with a degree of solace and a specific time window to look forward to. Mind you. This prediction may alter as new updates on the ongoing strikes surface, so keep an open mind going forward.
Today marks day 3 of back-to-back negotiations with CEOs and the WGA and day 144 for the writers, a meeting that lasted over 10 hours since the writers brought to the table new clauses of the deal. The union sent a letter to the strikers stating: ” We ask as many of you as possible to come out to the picket lines tomorrow.” The SAG AFTRA with the actors is also in full force, today marking their 71st day striking on the picket lines, not ready to back down. Production houses are slowly emptying out their last pennies, movie hall tickets are recording their all-time low, and Hollywood producers are scratching their heads to meet the demands of the unions to put an end to this. Since we do not have a conclusive date on when these deals will be met, it makes our following prediction of NCIS Season 21 all the more unresolved.
Assuming that the strikes meet their end within October 2023 and the NCIS Season 21 kicks start into production, we can expect the new Season to arrive somewhere in mid-2024. This prediction is also set in tune with the competitor networks as well as CBS pushing their 2023 fall releases to a timeline of the first quarter of 2024, which includes the months of January, February, March, and April. As more concrete news blows our way, we will surely update this space.
NCIS Season 21 Update: Mark Harmon Will Not Join Us
With the exit of Mark Harmon from NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Service Major Case Response Team) after a successful two-decade-long hustle, fans were worried about the subsequent events that were to follow. Some even questioned the tenacity of the series in retrospect of the exit of its main character. However, February 21st was a miraculous day! A renewal for Season 21 was announced, and the fans couldn’t have been happier. It seems like the perfect cliffhanger at the end of Season 1 was the ultimate catalyst for another season’s renewal.
So, will the titular character join the cult classic series again? Here is what we know so far.
Mark Harmon, who plays Gibbs, exited the show in Season 19, although he remains an EP for NCIS. Let’s see how his exit was framed. After a four-episode story, we saw Gibbs find a sort of peace in Alaska, the first he’d felt since the loss of his wife and daughter. He decided to remain there, with FBI agent Alden Parker agreeing to leave him behind instead of arresting him and bringing him back to the continental U.S. So if Harmon decides to surprise us for even a single episode re-appearance, it will be monumental.
His one-time cameo return might also provide some closure for the character since he left so abruptly. Stay tuned to Web News Observer as we come across new updates and post them here. In other news, other cast members who will be joining us include:
- Sean Murray as Timothy McGee
- Wilmer Valderrama as Nick Torres
- Katrina Law as Jessica Knight
- Brian Dietzen as Dr. Jimmy Palmer
- Diona Reasonover as Kasie Hines
- David McCallum as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard
- Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance
- Gary Cole as Alden Parker
Shows Like NCIS
If you feel like the wait for Season 21 is never-ending and would like to soothe your retinas with similarly-paced stories like that of NCIS, take a look at these:
- Jack Ryan
- SEAL Team
- Bones
Also, comment on what you would like Season 21 to bring to the table after the trailblazing cliffhanger Season 20 left us in the depths of.