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Why NCIS Season 18 is only 16 episodes long

By Alexandria Ingham

“Sturgeon Season” – Gibbs and Fornell (Joe Spano) attempt to track down the leader of a drug ring who supplied drugs to Fornell’s daughter. Also, the team deals with the case of a missing cadaver from the NCIS autopsy room, on the 18th season premiere of NCIS, Tuesday, Nov. 17 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Joe Spano as Tobias “T.C.” Fornell, Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
“Sturgeon Season” – Gibbs and Fornell (Joe Spano) attempt to track down the leader of a drug ring who supplied drugs to Fornell’s daughter. Also, the team deals with the case of a missing cadaver from the NCIS autopsy room, on the 18th season premiere of NCIS, Tuesday, Nov. 17 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Joe Spano as Tobias “T.C.” Fornell, Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. /
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Why NCIS Season 18 will be the shortest season of the series so far

We’re getting ready for a fall season like no other. Not only have NCIS Season 18 and other TV crime dramas returned later than normal, but we’re getting shorter seasons.

This time, we know the seasons are going to be shorter than ever before from the beginning. NCIS Season 18 will only have 16 episodes to the season, but it’s not a bad thing.

Yes, it’s disappointing. Right now, we want as much fresh content as possible, but this is a show (and network) thinking long-term.

The shortest season so far

Most seasons of NCIS have been 24 episodes long. That’s what we’re used to, so hearing we’re getting eight episodes less is disappointing.

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It’s not the first time the show has had a reduced episode count. Season 5 was only 19 episodes and Season 17 was only 20 episodes. These were decisions made during the season.

Back in the 2008-2009 season, the writers went on strike. All TV shows ended up with reduced episode counts. Some were as short as 16, while others were able to bring us 19 to 20 episodes.

Of course, the 2019-2020 season was out of everyone’s control, too. The pandemic led to all productions shutting down early so the last episodes filmed in full became the season finales (except for The Blacklist, which did something innovative to bring one last episode).

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Why is NCIS Season 18 only 16 episodes long?

So, why a shorter season this time? Why do we get the advanced warning? It’s all to do with scheduling.

CBS doesn’t want its biggest shows to run into the summer. This is when people go away and when viewership drops. It doesn’t want to put its bigger shows at risk with the advertisers.

At the same time, CBS is going to think about the 2021-2022 season that begins in September 2021. If we want NCIS Season 19 and we want it to premiere in September, filming needs to start in July 2021. That is only possible if filming for the current season stops around April or May.

To stop in April or May, the show isn’t going to have time to film all 24 episodes. Instead, CBS has given the networks warning to make sure the complete season works with just 16 episodes, getting things back to normal for the fall 2021 season.

So while it’s disappointing, it makes a lot of sense in the long run.

NCIS Season 18 will address Gibbs and Sloane. dark. Next

NCIS Season 18 premieres on Nov. 17 at 8/7c on CBS.

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