‘NCIS’ Is Getting Another Refresh on Netflix With Older Seasons Coming Back – Enter Dairysia

NCIS has been one of the most-watched shows on Netflix in recent years. Although it doesn’t quite grab the headlines like that, it’s consistently ranked well in the Nielsen end-of-year charts, and we suspect that’ll be the same for 2024. Netflix nabbed some new seasons of the show midway through this year but lost the older seasons, although that’s about the change. 

Before we dig in, just a quick note about who this article applies to. Sadly, only Netflix in the United States currently carries NCIS, meaning that all other countries will not be impacted by the news below, with streaming rights tied up elsewhere, such as Sky in the United Kingdom.

As fans of the show on Netflix will know, watching NCIS on Netflix has been frustrating for the past six, now coming up on seven years. Up until 2018, Netflix had it pretty good. Thanks to an old output deal Netflix had with CBS, the network that airs the show, new seasons came to the streaming service every single year, but that stopped with season 15 in late 2018. 

After that, new seasons were only available on Paramount+, although Netflix would keep the rights to seasons 1 through 15 until June 2024. Of course, June rolled around pretty quickly, and Netflix was scheduled to see all fifteen seasons leave. However, a new deal was struck to keep the show on Netflix, albeit with some pros and cons. 

The pros were that two new seasons would come to Netflix – seasons 17 and 18, but the negative was that Netflix lost the first 11 seasons of the show. That’s meant that only seasons 12 through 18 have been on Netflix. While it’s procedural, and you can theoretically jump in at any point, many prefer to watch titles from the beginning. 

Ncis Poster Season

Ncis Poster Season


Seasons 1-5 of NCIS are coming back to Netflix.

As part of their January 2025 slate, Netflix announced that NCIS would be getting some of its older seasons back, though not all of them. Seasons 1 to 5 of NCIS will return to Netflix starting January 23, 2025. While this limited selection might seem odd, it makes sense as a strategy to draw viewers in with the earlier seasons before skipping ahead to Season 12 rather than starting directly with the twelfth season.

That means from January 23rd, 2025, Netflix US will stream:

  • Seasons 1-5 
  • Seasons 12 to 18

For the foreseeable future, seasons 6 through 11 and 19 through 22 (season 22 currently airs on CBS) will be exclusive to Paramount+. 


Expect another NCIS refresh in June 2025

So, that’s when some older seasons will be on Netflix, but what about the next refresh? Will seasons 18, 19, 20, 21 or even 22 be coming to Netflix? It’s a little too early, but we know the next refresh is scheduled for mid-2025. That refresh could mean some newer seasons arrive, some older seasons depart, or a combination of those two things, or the show just disappears entirely. 


For more on what’s coming up on Netflix throughout January 2025 – keep it locked here on What’s on Netflix for the latest.

Are you glad some of the earlier seasons will be back on Netflix this January? Let us know in the comments. 

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