Summary

• NCIS season 21 will be the first year without any original cast , marking a major transition for the long-running show.
• The possibility of original cast returning in some capacity still remains open for future seasons, as some characters' storylines are left unresolved.
• Season 21 presents opportunities for an original cast reunion, including a tribute to Ducky and the celebration of the franchise's 1000th episode.

When NCIS returns for season 21, it will break a trend that it has had since it premiered in 2003. On the heels of its milestone year, CBS' long-running police procedural is not showing signs that it is slowing down any time soon. Despite the many changes that faced throughout its years on the air, it remains ever-popular, with the show even being TV's most-watched drama. Because of this, there is no reason for the network to pull the plug on NCIS, despite canceling several series on the cusp of the delayed 2023-2024 season.

Aside from the original show continuously thriving on broadcast, the NCIS universe is also expanding. NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans may have ended in 2023 and 2021, respectively, but aside from NCIS: Hawai'i, the franchise's first international endeavor just also debuted in NCIS: Sydney. Moving forward, there's also NCIS: Origins, which will tackle the early years of Mark Harmon's Leroy Jethro Gibbs' in the organization. Amid all these great developments, NCIS is set to break a record that is disheartening for those who have been following the series since it started.

Mark Harmon will narrate the events of NCIS: Origins.

NCIS Season 21 Will Not Feature Any Original Cast Member

Ducky is the final original cast member to leave NCIS.

When NCIS season 21 premieres, it will be the first year that the show will not have any original cast . When the show debuted in 2003, it did so with 5 main players — Harmon's Gibbs, Sasha Alexander's Caitlin Todd, Michael Weatherly's Tony DiNozzo, Pauley Perrett's Abby Sciuto, and David McCallum's Ducky Mallard. All of them have left the show at different points in its storied 20-year run, starting with Alexander in season 3, Weatherly in season 13, and Perrette in season 15. Harmon's Gibbs retiring in NCIS season 19 is the latest show departure until McCallum died in 2023.

Granted that Ducky eventually transitioned from being the team's main medical examiner to NCIS' historian to lessen McCallum's work burden, he was still regarded as a cast member in season 20. Meanwhile, Sean Murray's Timothy McGee, who is still part of the new team, debuted in season 1. However, McGee wasn't part of the original core cast; Murray was just in a recurring role throughout the show's first year. It wasn't until its sophomore year that he was promoted to a series regular by becoming a probational member of Gibbs' team.

Will Any Original Cast Ever Return To NCIS?

Michael Weatherly has expressed his desire to return.

This keeps the door open for all three of them to potentially return to the franchise in some capacity in the years to come.

Aside from Cait, whom Ari killed off in NCIS season 3, and Ducky, in light of McCallum's death, everyone else from the original ensemble is still alive. DiNozzo left his post because he wanted to find the truth about Ziva and their daughter and Abby walked away because of being traumatized by the job. Meanwhile, Gibbs simply retired and decided to stay in Alaska and fish. This keeps the door open for all three of them to potentially return to the franchise in some capacity in the years to come.

Harmon's ties to NCIS will continue via the Gibbs prequel, indicating a good working relationship between him and everyone else still involved in the franchise. Recently, however, Weatherly himself expressed his desire to step back into the shoes of DiNozzo, saying that it was always the character that he would want to revisit simply because there are still storylines that can only be cleared up by his return. Perhaps his comeback can also involve Cote de Pablo as Ziva.

Why NCIS Season 21 Is The Perfect Time To Have An Original Cast Reunion

NCIS season 21 is a better time for a reunion than season 20.

Despite hopes that at least some of the departed original cast will return for NCIS' milestone 20th season, no legacy character ended up turning out. It's uncertain if there were any efforts to recruit any of them, but it seemed like the perfect time to stage a reunion, considering the occasion. That being said, NCIS season 21 may actually be a better time for an original cast get-together because it has two possible opportunities for the matter. Firstly, NCIS' Ducky tribute can feature at the very least Gibbs, given their long-time friendship.

Secondly, the NCIS universe will celebrate its 1000th episode overall, and it's only appropriate that those who started the franchise are involved in its storyline. It's uncertain what CBS is planning for this impressive accolade, but McGee and his team having to recruit some of the team's original for a case would be a great way to honor the past and set up the franchise's future. Whatever the case may be, having these options makes it difficult to justify not bringing back any of the original cast in its year.

NCIS season 21 premieres on February 12, 9pm ET on CBS.