When NCIS Season 19 & NCIS: Hawaii Season 1 Return After The Olympics

NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i audiences are in for a wait before their favorite TV shows return while they make way for the Olympics. The CBS dramas are on hiatus as the delayed 2022 Winter Olympic Games, which started on February 4th, take place in Beijing, a year after they were originally scheduled. The quadrennial sporting event, was postponed in 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Both NCIS shows usually air on Monday evenings—NCIS at 9pm and the recently launched NCIS: Hawai’i spin-off franchise at 10pm. That schedule will be disrupted, but luckily, it won’t be long before they return.

NCIS viewers are waiting for the follow-up to season 19, episode 12, “Fight or Flight,” which aired on January 24th. Eagle-eyed viewers noticed that the usual preview for the next episode did not air directly after the episode, so they’re left to draw their own conclusions as to what episode 13 might bring. Over on NCIS: Hawai’i, the latest franchise spinoff, which premiered in September 2021, also last aired on that day with the second part of “Spies.” 

Those flipping on their TVs next Monday expecting to see both shows, they needn’t worry about either being the next canceled NCIS series. The official NCIS Twitter account posted a tweet referencing the hiatus that featured a GIF image of Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) that read “Sometimes people leave“—referencing a touching moment in episode 12 that he shared with Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama). The tweet itself clarified the GIF, saying “It’s true, and this time it’s us. Until the next one!” (via Twitter). While NCIS’ return date for the “next one” is still not confirmed, NCIS: Hawai’i season 1, episode 14, “Broken,” will make a comeback on Monday, February 28. As the two programs run consecutively, it makes sense to bring them both back on the same date after the buzz of the Olympics wanes. So, while CBS has yet to officially announce NCIS‘ return date, it’s fairly certain that audiences can expect NCIS season 19, episode 13, “The Helpers,” to also return on February 28.

NCIS series 19, episode 12 was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions, especially for Torres, who is still coming to terms with former Special Agent Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) leaving at the end of season 18, followed by boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon)’s emotional exit in the current season. During the last outing of the show, Torres, likely feeling some kind of abandonment, went undercover as a cage fighter and appeared to let his opponent beat him to a pulp, before hinting about his mental health to a protesting Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) standing on the sidelines, saying, “So? Who’s left to care?” Heavy stuff—likely to build into something greater as the season continues.

Despite NCIS: Hawai’i only being in its first season, the program’s newest franchise offering, featuring the first woman Special Agent, Jane Tennant (Vaness Lachey), leading the team, has already built up a steady audience. Already, NCIS: Hawai’i is proving different from other spinoffs. The last episode ​​saw Jane discover that her mentor and friend Maggie Shaw (Julie White) was in fact a double-agent. During tense scenes, Jane interrogated her former ally, who provided information for her long-lost son who was working with the Chinese government.

While February 28 seems a lifetime away, and no information has been officially released, NCIS viewers can perhaps be comforted by the teaser issued by Dietzen, who tweeted: “The next episode that airs will definitely have @MerEaton coming back for a guest spot! It’ll be after the Olympics. (And she’s terrific as always)” (via Twitter). Dietzen would know—he co-wrote the episode that will see the show bring back Carol Wilson (Meredith Eaton). ​If that’s not enough to get excited about, there’s a crossover between NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’ischeduled for Monday, March 28. No more details have been released yet, but it is certain to be an episode to watch.

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