NCIS season 18

The eighteenth season of NCIS, an American police procedural drama television series, originally aired on CBS from November 17, 2020 through May 25, 2021.^[1] The season only contained 16 episodes,^[2] shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, making it the second shortest in the series behind season 21, and includes the series' 400th episode. This is the first season to not premiere in the usual September. The season was produced by Belisarius Productions and CBS Studios.^[3]

NCIS
Season 18
Season 18 U.S. DVD cover
Starring	Mark Harmon Sean Murray Wilmer Valderrama Emily Wickersham Maria Bello Brian Dietzen Diona Reasonover Rocky Carroll David McCallum
No. of episodes	16
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	November 17, 2020 (2020-11-17) – May 25, 2021 (2021-05-25)
Season chronology
List of episodes

NCIS revolves around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The series stars Mark Harmon, Sean Murray, Wilmer Valderrama, Emily Wickersham, Maria Bello, Brian Dietzen, Diona Reasonover, Rocky Carroll, and David McCallum. The season is Bello's last as a series regular, as she left after eight episodes.^[4] The season finale serves as Wickersham's final appearance as Eleanor Bishop, leaving the series after 8 years.^[5] Several late-season episodes feature Pam Dawber, Harmon's real-life spouse.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of NCIS characters

Main

• Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) of the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) assigned to Washington's Navy Yard (episodes 1–10) / suspended (episodes 11–16)
• Sean Murray as Timothy McGee, NCIS Senior Special Agent, Second in Command of MCRT
• Wilmer Valderrama as Nick Torres, NCIS Special Agent
• Emily Wickersham as Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop, NCIS Special Agent
• Maria Bello as Dr. Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane, NCIS Senior Resident Agent and Operational Psychologist (episodes 1–8)
• Brian Dietzen as Dr. Jimmy Palmer, Chief Medical Examiner for NCIS
• Diona Reasonover as Kasie Hines, Forensic Specialist for NCIS
• Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance, NCIS Director
• David McCallum as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, NCIS Historian

Recurring

• Joe Spano as Tobias Fornell, Private Detective and former FBI agent
• Margo Harshman as Delilah Fielding-McGee, DoD Intelligence Analyst and McGee's wife
• Pam Dawber as Marcie Warren, investigative journalist
• Laura San Giacomo as Dr. Grace Confalone, psychotherapist
• Nick Boraine as Merriweather, NCIS target
• Adam Campbell as Young Ducky
• Sean Harmon as Young Gibbs
• Hugo Armstrong as Eugene Coyle, from the NCIS Inspector General's office
• Juliette Angelo as Emily Fornell, Tobias Fornell's daughter
• Elayn J. Taylor as Odette Malone, owner of Ziva's private office and former CIA Operative
• Victoria Platt as Veronica Tyler, NCIS Special Agent
• Jack Fisher as Phineas, Gibbs' former neighbor
• Karri Turner as Micki Kaydar, Phineas' aunt

Guest stars

• Thomas F. Wilson as Angus DeMint, author "Journey of Adventure."
• Steven Bauer as Miguel Torres, Nick Torres' father
• William Allen Young as Moses McClaine, U.S. Secretary of Defense
• Zane Holtz as Dale Sawyer, NCIS Special Agent
• Tijuana Ricks as Pamela Walsh, CIA Agent
• Chris Browning as Tom Dalton, NCIS REACT Special Agent
• Katrina Law as Jessica Knight, NCIS REACT Special Agent

Episodes

See also: List of NCIS episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
399	1	"Sturgeon Season"	Michael Zinberg	Scott Williams	November 17, 2020 (2020-11-17)	1801	10.35[6]
While the team tries to figure out the whereabouts of a missing body, Gibbs assists Fornell in tracking down the leader of the drug ring that supplied opioids to Fornell's daughter Emily.
400	2	"Everything Starts Somewhere"	Terrence O'Hara	Steven D. Binder	November 24, 2020 (2020-11-24)	1802	10.15[7]
The discovery of a dead body in the basement of NCIS headquarters is linked to a group Gibbs investigated in his past. Flashbacks reveal how Gibbs was introduced to Ducky and the agency. The episode ends with Gibbs accepting invitations from the team to go out for drinks.
401	3	"Blood and Treasure"	Diana Valentine	Christopher J. Waild	December 8, 2020 (2020-12-08)	1803	8.53[8]
A murder investigation is linked to a years-long treasure hunt. The team investigates while recovering from their night of drinking. Also, Gibbs and Fornell continue their secret investigation into the drug ring, with Fornell going undercover as a fast food restaurant employee.
402	4	"Sunburn"	Rocky Carroll	Marco Schnabel	January 19, 2021 (2021-01-19)	1804	9.63[9]
McGee and Delilah's vacation in the Bahamas turns into a high-risk mission when a case NCIS is tracking from a dead escape room manager has ties to the island. Gibbs fears the worst when his search for Fornell leads to blood.
403	5	"Head of the Snake"	Tawnia McKiernan	Brendan Fehily & David J. North	January 19, 2021 (2021-01-19)	1805	8.74[9]
Gibbs and Fornell's crusade to find the head of the drug gang responsible for Fornell's daughter Emily's overdose, climaxes. In addition, Gibbs and Vance finally inform the team about a case that has dangerous implications.
404	6	"1mm"	Diana Valentine	Gina Lucita Monreal	January 26, 2021 (2021-01-26)	1806	10.02[10]
Following a lead on arms smuggling, Bishop and Torres engage in a shootout at the home of a former sheriff which is now a historic site, only to find themselves locked in abandoned cells there.
405	7	"The First Day"	James Whitmore Jr.	Margaret Rose Lester	February 9, 2021 (2021-02-09)	1807	9.74[11]
While the team investigates the murder of a Navy officer who was killed while driving home a recently released inmate, Palmer grieves the loss of his wife Breena from COVID-19. In addition, Sloane confides in Gibbs that she is "ready for a change", hinting she may leave the team.
406	8	"True Believer"	Terrence O'Hara	Jill Weinberger	March 2, 2021 (2021-03-02)	1808	9.60[12]
"Sloane NCIS" is written on an abandoned school bus in Afghanistan that contained girls thought to have been kidnapped by the Taliban. At NCIS, Sloane admits to Gibbs that she wants to put an offer down on a house in Costa Rica. Their conversation is interrupted by Vance, who gives them the green light to search for the missing girls in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the rest of the team tries to determine who killed a "hacktivist" suspected of providing GPS coordinates of the bus to the Taliban. In Afghanistan, Sloane is reacquainted with Darya, a woman who helped Sloane during her torturous time there. Darya’s death at the hands of terrorists is the last straw for an emotionally exhausted Sloane, the stress of one bad guy taking the place of another having built up over time. After rescuing the girls, Sloane voices her intention to stay in Afghanistan to help other young girls in similar predicaments and shares a goodbye kiss with Gibbs. Note: Final appearance of Maria Bello as Jacqueline Sloane.
407	9	"Winter Chill"	Michael Zinberg	Scott Williams	March 9, 2021 (2021-03-09)	1809	9.77[13]
When a Navy Officer is found dead in a freezer truck, the team get stuck in the middle of a battle between two competing food trucks. Meanwhile, after Sloane's departure from NCIS, Gibbs comforts Fornell when his daughter Emily unexpectedly dies from a drug relapse.
408	10	"Watchdog"	Diana Valentine	Brendan Fehily & David J. North	March 16, 2021 (2021-03-16)	1810	9.98[14]
When a stray pitbull accidentally tumbles a navy convoy with a missile carried on, the team discovers the dog was abused. Gibbs confronts the abuser, Luke Stana, with force, which has him arrested. The rest of the team tries to prove Gibbs’ innocence and arrest Stana, but although they are successful, Gibbs confesses his role in the attack to Inspector General Eugene Coyle. As such, Vance is forced to suspend Gibbs indefinitely. Additionally, Gibbs takes the abused dog, Lucy, home with him.
409	11	"Gut Punch"	Rocky Carroll	Christopher J. Waild	April 6, 2021 (2021-04-06)	1811	10.26[15]
As punishment for their actions in the case against Gibbs, the team is assigned to be COVID-19 officers for an event the Secretary of Defense is hosting with the Yemeni Government, while night shift agents spearhead a murder investigation. McGee, Bishop, and Torres discover a link between that case and the SecDef's event, and later have to intervene when they find out that the SecDef has been targeted by a hitman. Meanwhile, Gibbs is met at the diner by investigative reporter Marcie Warren (Pam Dawber, Harmon's real life spouse) and reluctantly tells her the truth about his confrontation with Stana. With the story out there for the public, Vance visits Gibbs and tells him he cannot save him from the fallout this time.
410	12	"Sangre"	James Whitmore Jr.	Marco Schnabel	April 27, 2021 (2021-04-27)	1812	8.56[16]
The lead suspect in the death of a Marine sergeant in an open house is Torres' father, who walked out on Torres when he was young. Meanwhile, Gibbs takes the opportunity to get caught up on household chores while suspended from the agency. He is visited by Marcie Warren, who asks him to review some of her work.
411	13	"Misconduct"	Tawnia McKiernan	Brendan Fehily & Margaret Rose Lester & David J. North	May 4, 2021 (2021-05-04)	1813	9.70[17]
While biking with a friend, a petty officer is killed in a hit-and-run. The team comes to realize the friend was the intended target, as he was an accountant set to testify against Parker James, accused of a Ponzi scheme against sailors. The team later finds the witness dead, and though Gibbs testifies against James, the prosecutor is reluctant to put him on the stand due to his suspension from NCIS. James' lawyer attacks Gibbs' credibility, and the jury finds the defendant not guilty. However, NCIS is able to arrest him and his estranged wife for ordering the hit on his accountant.
412	14	"Unseen Improvements"	Diana Valentine	Steven D. Binder & Scott Williams	May 11, 2021 (2021-05-11)	1814	8.94[18]
NCIS' investigation into the murder of a captain in the National Military Command Center leads them to Hassan Sayegh, the biological uncle of Gibbs' former neighbor Phineas (Jack Fisher). Hassan was after the captain's laptop to hack into NCIS case history so he can get to Phineas after causing his foster parents' car to crash. Phineas runs to Gibbs' house and bonds with Lucy. The team arrests Hassan, but not before he reveals his own son needs a bone marrow transplant, which Phineas agrees to donate, and Gibbs allows Phineas to take Lucy home. Elsewhere, Torres and Bishop agree to discuss their apparent feelings for each other after questioning by Palmer and Kasie.
413	15	"Blown Away"	Michael Zinberg	Marco Schnabel & Christopher J. Waild	May 18, 2021 (2021-05-18)	1815	8.73[19]
NCIS REACT agent Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) successfully talks down a hostage situation, but then an explosion kills her team. Knight joins in the investigation, which leads to the revelation that the REACT team was the target all along. Elsewhere, Gibbs and Marcie Warren investigate a cold case off the books.
414	16	"Rule 91"	Diana Valentine	Brendan Fehily & David J. North	May 25, 2021 (2021-05-25)	1816	8.96[20]
While pursuing a dangerous arms dealer, the team is shocked when Bishop is implicated in an old NSA leak. McGee and Knight attempt to prove her innocence, but ultimately Bishop reveals her complicity and quits. Torres realizes that Bishop's exit was a planned maneuver between her and Odette Malone (Ziva David's contact), so as to set Bishop up on a long-term, undercover mission which required her to be a "disgraced NCIS agent." The two share a goodbye kiss after an intense argument, and Bishop leaves. Meanwhile, Gibbs and Marcie realize that the killer they've been tracking may be on to them. The episode ends with Gibbs' newly completed boat, named "Rule 91", blowing up and Gibbs swimming away from the wreckage. Note: Final appearance of Emily Wickersham as Eleanor Bishop.

Production

Development

The season was ordered on May 6, 2020.^[3] On June 3, 2020, Steven D. Binder announced that the writers had begun working on the season.^[21] Scripts initially written for cancelled Season 17 episodes were integrated into this season's second and fourth episodes, "Everything Starts Somewhere" and "Sunburn." The exit of Maria Bello's Jacqueline Sloane, which would have occurred in the unproduced Season 17 finale, was integrated into the season's eighth episode, "True Believer," though similarities to the originally planned storyline remain undetermined. On August 12, 2020, it was announced that CBS Television Studios had signed a deal with the law enforcement advisory group 21CP Solutions, to consult on its crime and legal dramas, which includes NCIS. 21CP Solutions would help the series to more accurately portray law enforcement; this comes after the George Floyd protests, which caused the television industry to rethink their portrayal of law enforcement.^[22] On September 21, 2020, it was announced that the season would start by exploring where Gibbs, played by series star Mark Harmon, disappeared to during the episode "Musical Chairs" from the previous season, before returning to the present day.^[23] On October 27, 2020, it was announced that season would comprise sixteen episodes.^[2]

Filming

The planned twenty-first episode of the seventeenth season, which was postponed due to production on the season being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, was the first episode filmed of season eighteen. The planned twenty-second episode of season seventeen, which would have been the 400th episode of the series, was filmed and aired second, which kept it as the 400th episode.^[24] Production on the eighteenth season began on September 9, 2020, and the series continued to be filmed in Los Angeles.^[25] Filming for season 18 wrapped up on March 29, 2021.^[26]

Casting

On May 6, 2020, it was announced that Harmon had closed a new deal with CBS Television Studios.^[27] On July 24, 2020, it was announced that series regular Maria Bello is set to leave the show during the season, and appear in eight episodes to wrap up her character's storyline.^[4] On September 9, 2020, it was announced that Harmon's son Sean, would return in episode two as a younger version of his father's character.^[28] On October 21, 2020, it was announced that Adam Campbell would also return in episode two, as a younger version of Ducky.^[29] In March 2021, Katrina Law was cast in the role of Jessica Knight.^[30] Law appeared in the final two episodes of the season with the potential to become a series regular if the series is renewed for a nineteenth season.^[31] On May 26, 2021, it was confirmed that series regular Emily Wickersham would leave the series after 8 years.^[5]

Release

The season is set to premiere during the 2020–21 television season as part of CBS's Tuesday lineup with FBI and FBI: Most Wanted.^[32] On August 26, 2020, it was announced that CBS hoped to begin airing the season in November 2020.^[33] On October 13, 2020, it was announced that the season would premiere on November 17, 2020.^[1] It was also announced that this will be the final season on the Tuesday timeslot, it will be moved on Mondays on its 19th season leading into its new spinoff series NCIS: Hawaiʻi.^[34]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of NCIS season 18

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Sturgeon Season"	November 17, 2020	0.9/6[6]	10.35[6]	0.4	2.97	1.4	13.37[35]
2	"Everything Starts Somewhere"	November 24, 2020	0.9/6[7]	10.15[7]	—	—	—	—
3	"Blood and Treasure"	December 8, 2020	0.7/4[8]	8.53[8]	0.5	3.21	1.2	11.74[36]
4	"Sunburn"	January 19, 2021	0.8/5[9]	9.63[9]	—	—	—	—
5	"Head of the Snake"	January 19, 2021	0.8/5[9]	8.74[9]	—	—	—	—
6	"1mm"	January 26, 2021	1.0/6[10]	10.02[10]	—	—	—	—
7	"The First Day"	February 9, 2021	0.9/6[11]	9.74[11]	0.5	3.37	1.4	13.12[37]
8	"True Believer"	March 2, 2021	0.8/5[12]	9.60[12]	0.4	3.18	1.3	12.79[38]
9	"Winter Chill"	March 9, 2021	0.8/6[13]	9.77[13]	0.5	3.27	1.3	13.14[39]
10	"Watchdog"	March 16, 2021	0.9/6[14]	9.98[14]	—	—	—	—
11	"Gut Punch"	April 6, 2021	1.0/7[15]	10.26[15]	0.4	2.82	1.3	13.08[40]
12	"Sangre"	April 27, 2021	0.6/4[16]	8.56[16]	0.3	2.24	0.9	10.75[41]
13	"Misconduct"	May 4, 2021	0.8/6[17]	9.70[17]	0.3	2.80	1.1	12.44[42]
14	"Unseen Improvements"	May 11, 2021	0.7/5[18]	8.94[18]	0.4	3.02	1.1	11.96[43]
15	"Blown Away"	May 18, 2021	0.7/5[44]	8.73[44]	0.4	3.09	1.1	11.82[44]
16	"Rule 91"	May 25, 2021	0.7/5	8.96[45]	0.4	3.14	1.1	12.10[45]