NCIS is about to wrap its 17th season on CBS — a testament to the enduring allure of the police action procedural. Running since 2003, NCIS has, as fans know, bred two spinoffs NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans, each of them success stories in their own rite.
Of course, ratings are typically the strongest indication that a show will be renewed for an additional season, and judging by a year-over-year comparison, NCIS' ratings seem to have taken a slight tumble when compared to around this time last year.
In 2019, when decisions about renewals were beginning to trickle out, NCIS averaged about 16 million viewers, according to Deadline, while this season's average lands at about 11.5 million.