NCIS (TV series)

NCIS is an American police procedural drama television series, revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

The concept and characters were initially introduced in two episodes of the CBS series JAG (season eight episodes "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown"). The show, a spin-off from JAG, premiered on September 23, 2003, on CBS. To date it has aired for twelve full seasons and has gone into broadcast syndication on USA Network. Donald P. Bellisario is co-creator, along with Don McGill, as well as executive producer. The series is the first member of the NCIS franchise. It is the second longest-running scripted non-animated U.S. primetime TV series currently airing, surpassed only by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present), and is the 15th longest-running scripted U.S. primetime TV series overall.

NCIS was originally referred to as Navy NCIS during season one; "Navy" was later dropped from the title as it was redundant (the "N" in "NCIS" stands for "Naval"). In season 6, a two-part episode led to a spin-off series, NCIS: Los Angeles. A two-part episode in season 11 led to a second spin-off series, NCIS: New Orleans.