NCIS Season 21

NCIS Season 21 is the 21st season of NCIS. One of the earliest shows to resume production after the 2023 Hollywood strikes , it premiered on February 12, 2024 on CBS and concluded on May 6, 2024.

Cast

Name	Portrayed by	Role
Timothy McGee	Sean Murray	NCIS Senior Special Agent.
Nicholas Torres	Wilmer Valderrama	NCIS Special Agent.
Jessica Knight	Katrina Law	NCIS Special Agent.
James Palmer	Brian Dietzen	NCIS's Chief Medical Examiner.
Kasie Hines	Diona Reasonover	NCIS's Chief Forensic Scientist.
Donald Mallard (credit only for episodes 1–2; stand-in: episode 2)	David McCallum	NCIS Historian. Deceased as of "The Stories We Leave Behind"
Leon Vance	Rocky Carroll	NCIS Director.
Alden Parker	Gary Cole	NCIS Special Agent in Charge.

Cast Notes

David McCallum (Ducky Mallard) died in September 25, 2023, around two months before this season started filming and five months before this season would premiere. He is only credited for the first two episodes of the season. The second episode of this season served as a tribute episode dedicating to McCallum/Ducky.

Former series regular, Michael Weatherly who portrayed Anthony DiNozzo for the first thirteen seasons returned during the second episode of the season.

Trivia

• This is the first season to not feature David McCallum as Ducky due to his death on September 25, 2023.
  • First season to not feature McCallum on the promotional artworks.
  • Although McCallum is posthumously credited in the first two episodes ("Algun Dia" and "The Stories We Leave Behind"), starting "Lifeline", this is the first season to not feature him in the opening credits.
• This is NCIS's longest hiatus gap between the season finale and the subsequent season premiere as S20 finale and S21 premiere had a nine month long gap, longer than the hiatus gap between S17 finale and S18 premiere (seven months).
• Due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes, this season has only 10 episodes, making it the shortest season in the series. The eighteenth season, which had 16 episodes, previously held that distinction.
• On November 13, 2023, TVLine revealed that NCIS Season 21 and NCIS: Hawaii Season 3 would premiere on February 12, 2024, NCIS airing at 9pm and NCIS: Hawaii airing at 10pm.
• First season to air without NCIS: Los Angeles since Season 7(first season alongside NCIS: Los Angeles) as it ended in May 2023.
• This season aired alongside NCIS: Hawaii Season 3 and after NCIS: Sydney Season 1.
• During an interview at the Golden Globes, Wilmer Valderrama (Nicholas Torres) revealed that NCIS Season 21 has ten episodes and unlike other seasons where episodes were standalones, the ten episodes would be all connected.

Episodes

Episode Number		Production	Title	Airdate	Summary
Series	Season	Code
458	1	2101	Algún Día (episode)	February 12, 2024	The NCIS team must help Torres when he puts his future at stake by confronting the man who tormented his family when he was a child.
459	2	2102	The Stories We Leave Behind (episode)	February 19, 2024	As NCIS mourns the loss of Ducky, the agents find comfort in working on one of his unfinished cases involving a young woman whose father was dishonorably discharged from the Marines.
460	3	2103	Lifeline (NCIS episode)	February 26, 2024	When the NCIS team engages in Walk-a-Mile day to gain a new perspectives on different departments, things take a turn when Kasie receives a distress call from a mysterious man.
461	4	2104	Left Unsaid (episode)	March 4, 2024	When an officer goes missing during his wedding proposal, the NCIS team against time to find him before it's too late.
462	5	2105	The Plan (episode)	March 25, 2024	With the help of Knight's father, NCIS works to unravel the mystery of a recently used service weapon belonging to a missing agent while McGee is in a tailspin when DNA results reveal a close relative he was unaware of.
463	6	2106	Strange Invaders (episode)	April 1, 2024	After discovering a navy pilot's body riddled with unusual wounds, NCIS' investigation draws the team into the rabbit hole of UFO conspiracy theories.
464	7	2107	A Thousand Yards (episode)	April 15, 2024	NCIS comes under attack by a mysterious enemy from the past. Also, Vance tries to mend fences with his estranged son by explaining why, despite the ongoing dangers of his job, he still chooses to stay at NCIS.
465	8	2108	Heartless (episode)	April 22, 2024	The NCIS team looks for a motive behind the kidnapping and death of a famous heart surgeon.
466	9	2109	Prime Cut (episode)	April 29, 2024	After discovering the remains of a Marine captain, the NCIS team travels to Texas to interrogate the suspected killer.
467	10	2110	Reef Madness (episode)	May 6, 2024	Parker and Knight discover three bodies on an old Navy ship that’s about to be sunk and turned into an artificial reef, when they’re suddenly locked inside by a mysterious figure. Also, Vance offers Knight a unique opportunity