NCIS has just finished airing season 18 on CBS.
NCIS will be taking a break as it gets ready to once again return later this year. The cr1me drama was renewed for its 19th series by CBS earlier this year which is expected to start in September. But could this be the last time that fans will be able to follow the adventures of the NCIS agents?
When will NCIS end?
There have been concerns for quite a while that NCIS would soon be cancelled.
Leroy Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon) is now officially too old to be an agent so there have been talks of him retiring from the show.
He also reportedly thought about walking away from the drama prior to it being renewed.
Luckily, this isn’t the case as he has signed up to do season 19 but it is unclear if he is going to be a full-time cast member.
In the season 18 finale, Gibbs’ boat was blown up and for a few moments, it seemed as if the beloved agent had been k1ll3d.
This wasn’t the case though as he quietly swam away so it looks like he will be pretending to be d3ad when NCIS does return, meaning he may not be seen as frequently in the drama.
As Gibbs is the lead character in NCIS, him taking more of a back-seat role could be the beginning of the end.
Fans of the show are already predicting when the CBS drama could be cancelled.
Starting off the conversation on Reddit, one viewer wrote: “If season 19 has the regular episode count of 24, that would put NCIS at 438 episodes after the season finale.
“While I’m hoping for the big season 20, Mark Harmon taking a reduced role in season 19 could hinder that.
“In my perfect world, I would want NCIS to go through a full 21 seasons.
“This would leave a nice 22nd season with 14 episodes in order to wrap up loose ends, have one last big storyline, and get to the big 500th episode as the series finale.
“This would be a great way to go out in my opinion. Is it a possibility? Probably not, but a guy can dream haha.”
There was a mixed reaction to this post with some fans thinking the show will reach the 500th episode milestone and others believing it will end sooner rather than later.
Another fan commented: “I’m sure the show would either end after S19 or S20 ,it just won’t go after that.
“Two new characters came in, Ellie left and Gibbs has a reduced role.
“Storylines haven’t been so great in the past seasons, to be honest, I just want them to hit S20 and give us a wholesome ending.”
As of yet though, CBS hasn’t said if the drama will be coming to an end after season 19.
One of the main factors which could lead to its cancellation is Harmon’s involvement.
If he quits the show then this may lead to a decline in viewing figures since he has been the main star since the very beginning.
However, only time will tell if NCIS would be able to survive without him when he does decide to retire.
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