NCIS has reached a new milestone: 450 episodes! With Monday’s episode, the long-running CBS procedural celebrates the rare achievement, and only ET was on set with the cast to toast to the impressive feat. Despite the fact that longtime star Mark Harmon left the show early in the 19th season, NCIS star Wilmer Valderrama credited his former co-star with getting the show to where it is now.
“What NCIS has done beautifully, and I have to say, we’re here on the shoulders of so many incredible actors that were here before us, actors who are here or have passed, guest stars who have come and gone, and this show has seen so many careers blossom,” Valderrama, who joined the show as Nick Torres in season 14, told ET’s Matt Cohen. “So you think about what this show has meant to our industry and what it’s done for us as a community of actors looking for that break or to be discovered.”
“It’s also a big tribute to Mark Harmon, who has led this beautifully for hundreds of episodes and has been able to keep this boat with the integrity and value set that it still performs today,” he said. “Then it all comes full circle, with all of us coming in and being disruptive enough to keep reinventing it for the audience. So there’s a recipe of things that have to go perfectly in order for you to reach 450. And while we can’t take credit for the first 300, I will say that it’s an honor to be standing on the same ground as this team.”
Katrina Law, who took over as Jessica Knight at the end of season 18, was also added “NCIS, as a whole, has managed to capture magic in a bottle. And the fact that the show is still the No. 1 show on television after 450 episodes is testament to the juggernaut that is NCIS. It’s pretty cool to be a part of it and to stand next to this guy [Wilmer Valderrama] onstage and onscreen.”
The NCIS team investigates the d3ath of a ride-share driver who was discovered after a car accident in the 450th episode. It also reveals Alden Parker’s relationship with his father, retired Navy vet Roman (guest star Francis Xavier McCarthy), who is temporarily living with him while assisting the team in their investigation.
“We’re going to have a little family gathering. We might get to see a little bit of Parker’s past coming up in the form of his dad,” Diona Reasonover, who was introduced as Kasie Hines in season 15, said of the monumental episode, “which is really exciting because we really want to get a chance to explore some of those familial relationships. And we might get to see some headbutting.”
“The lovely thing about 450 is that you’ve now been with the new team for about a year and some [change], so you’re really starting to see us gel and crack jokes at each other. And the characters are becoming acquainted with one another “Noted by the law. “As actors, we’re getting to know one another. So the opportunity to have fun on set is becoming limitless at this point. Torres and Knight have officially become partners, so we get to share that mantle. And, for Knight, you get to see her with Jimmy Palmer as they work out some workplace romance.”
As the cast reflects on the series entering rarefied air as it approaches the 450-episode mark, some shared their theories on why the show, which ranks alongside Gunsmoke (635 episodes), Lassie (591 episodes), Law & Order: SVU (531 episodes), and Law & Order (481 episodes) as the longest-running scripted programs, continues to strike lightning in a bottle two decades later.
“I think the characters have remained consistent throughout the various iterations of this show,” Brian Dietzen, who has played Jimmy Palmer since season one, told ET. “From season 1 to season 20, we’ve had a lot of amazing characters who have helped to form a family, and I believe that their interactions are what keep people coming back. There are many shows that are based on headlines, and ours is definitely based on the characters. Every week, how do the characters react to these cr1mes?”
“Yes, absolutely,” Reasonover agreed. “I believe the audience will fall in love in the same way that I did when I first appeared on this show. You just get to see all these people you care about week after week.”
Sean Murray, who has played Timothy McGee on the show since its inception, cautioned against attempting to decipher why viewers remain invested in the stories and characters: “You don’t bring up the no-hitter!”
“It’s incredible,” he later said. “It takes a miracle for a show to get started, to be picked up, to last a year, and to go beyond that. It’s incredible to be a part of something like this. I’ve been doing this for the past 20 years. They won’t be able to get rid of me.”
Gary Cole, who debuted as Alden Parker in season 19, has been added “I’m saying it’s effective. We have no idea. But we are still standing.”
And, if the cast is to be believed, they intend to break Gunsmoke’s all-time record. (NCIS has already been renewed for a 21st season by CBS.) “Gunsmoke, we’re coming for you!” Cole made a remark.
“I believe we had it in us for a while. I believe we have a chance “Law is confident that NCIS will outperform the classic Western that aired on CBS from 1955 to 1975. “I believe there is always room for NCIS. I believe the fans will follow and stick with you.”
NCIS is one of the few scripted dramas currently airing that could realistically have a shot, according to Valderrama, and that speaks volumes about the franchise’s staying power. “There is currently no other television franchise with a window of opportunity to iconically break any record. And NCIS has proven that if they’re still the No. 1 show on television after 450 episodes, even if we fall to No. 3, you’ll be picked up for another ten years.
What is the next generation, where is it going, and how is the baton passed? But it’s an exciting thought to consider that this show could go that far.”
“You have no idea what the future holds,” Cole said. “A fictional scripted series will almost certainly never be in this situation again.”
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