In just a few days, Netflix will be making significant changes to its offering of <em>NCIS</em> episodes. While many viewers and TV critics have noted that this spells bad news for subscribers midway through specific seasons of the wildly popular military procedural series, there’s also some exciting news to report.
The world’s most popular streaming platform for small-screen releases has never held licensed all NCIS seasons simultaneously. However, since 2024, it’s pivoted towards the release of consecutive later seasons while retaining seasons 1 to 5 to entice newcomers into discovering the show.
As of October 1, 2026, the streamer is adjusting its strategy of licensing several consecutive seasons of NCIS at once. Viewers preparing for Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ return in NCIS: Origins by rewatching his final bow in the main series will no longer be able to do so on Netflix.
Instead, the Supervisory Special Agent universally regarded as the best character in the entire NCIS franchise will be giving way to a new generation of law enforcement operations. Those following Gibbs’ tenure for the first time on Netflix will soon experience what diehard fans went through almost exactly five years ago.
Mark Harmon’s NCIS Era Is Ending On Netflix Next Week
Mark Harmon’s NCIS exit brought an end to almost 30 years of Leroy Jethro Gibbs heading up the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) in Washington, D.C. By the 19th season of the series, Harmon was tired of devoting almost his entire professional life to the same project and could no longer handle its heavy-duty shooting schedule as easily.
He moved to a hands-off role behind the camera as an executive producer on the show. Meanwhile, his character decided he was happier in Alaska than going back to D.C. Netflix subscribers can still watch the moment that Gibbs says goodbye to his colleagues in the season 19 episode “Great Wide Open,” but only for a few more days.
|
NCIS Seasons On Netflix (US) |
Status In October 2026 |
|---|---|
|
Seasons 1–5 |
Staying on Netflix |
|
Seasons 6–11 |
Off Netflix |
|
Seasons 12–17 |
Staying on Netflix |
|
Seasons 18–19 |
Leaving Netflix |
|
Seasons 20–21 |
TBC |
|
Seasons 22–23 |
TBC |
At the start of October, NCIS seasons 18 and 19 will be removed from the platform, ending its complete coverage of the MCRT’s later years with Gibbs at the helm. Just like when seasons 6–11 were unceremoniously removed from Netflix in mid-2024, this is an era-defining moment for those who’ve been introduced to the series by the streamer.
If there were ever a time to binge your way through two seasons of the most popular procedural TV show of the 2020s, then this week is surely it. NCIS has more going on than ever around the original series, so it’s especially important for newcomers to get up to speed while they have the chance.
New NCIS Episodes Are Also Coming To Netflix In October
Even if Mark Harmon’s era of the show is coming to an end on Netflix, there’s also good news for fans who subscribe to the platform that isn’t yet being widely reported. According to a report by What’s On Netflix, which cites inside information from the streaming giant, newer episodes of the series will be making their Netflix debut in October as well.
While next month will see the removal of seasons 18 and 19 from the platform, we should expect at least two later seasons added too. It’s logical to assume that seasons 20 and 21 are next in line for their Netflix berth.
NCIS season 21 has fewer episodes because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood in 2023, so it’s possible we might see even more recent seasons made available for streaming to make up for this discrepancy. Netflix is keeping the exact makeup of its roster from October a secret at this stage, but it’s certainly something to get excited about.
This moment feels like a historic changing of the TV guard being reenacted by Netflix, five years after Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ departure from our screens was originally broadcast on CBS. Now it’s up to Gary Cole’s Alden Parker to win over a new generation of<em> NCIS</em> viewers all over again on streaming.
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Sean Murray
TIMOTHY MCGEE
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DAVID MCCALLUM
DRA. DONALD ‘DUCKY’ MALLARD
