This can be credited to a much stronger NCIS season 23 with regard to storytelling. While the show has a loyal fan base, it has managed to gain back some of the goodwill it lost with compelling narratives in the ongoing TV cycle. So far, NCIS has tackled the aftermath of Parker’s dad’s murder, teased a potential romance between Knight and Torres, and brought back Thom E. Gemcity — McGee’s author alter-ego. Aside from that, it also participated in its very first crossover with NCIS: Origins.
Moving forward, NCIS is about to celebrate its 500th episode, and Murray is hyping up not just the milestone but the rest of season 23 in an interview with CinemaBlend. The most veteran cast member of the long-running procedural promises that the show has some real high-stakes development moving forward, and makes sure to highlight that there won’t be fakeouts. Read his full quote below:
It really is great, and I think a lot of it has to do with because… we’ve got the point where we’re always trying to push forward. We’ve got new iterations of the show. We’re at this episode, it’s different than our usual [kind]. The fact that we’ve done 500 episodes and that we’re not just resting on our laurels or make something easy and digestible, we’re trying to do something different.
And this year, there’s very much a sense of that, and the fact that we’re at 500 episodes, and people, the behind the scenes of it, everything, we’re pushing more than ever. We’re more excited than ever to tell these stories, ‘cause I think we’ve got some really good stuff coming up this year. We’ve had some great stuff, we’ve got some really good stuff, and it’s different. It’s not just your usual in and out, and I can tell you that there are gonna be things that happen this year that are going to, like, legitimately jaw on the floor. You’re gonna be shocked that we did it-sort of things, and not just like, ‘Oh, here’s a little fake out’ or blah blah blah. Like, real deal stuff. We’ve got a couple things going on with a couple of different people in the NCIS world that I think are gonna be really surprising to fans.
And the fact that we’re able to do that after we’ve done 500 episodes is great. It’s almost like when you have a history that long and people kind of feel that, ok, now we know what to expect, sort of thing, it’s fun to throw some curveballs like this episode, or like some of the stuff that I can’t really talk about that we’ve got going on this year. It’s great, and I’ve never gotten bored for a moment doing this stuff. I feel like we’re telling the stories on all cylinders. I think we’re doing really good. I’m proud of us this year, I’ll be honest.
While McGee is not part of Gibbs’ original team, he has been on the show since NCIS season 1. This means that he has been in every single iteration of MCRT and was part of all the transitions that happened whenever there was a cast reshuffling. Admittedly, Murray is expected to hype up the show, as it’s part of CBS’ promotional effort. That said, it’s one thing to convince people to tune in, but it’s another to make these really lofty promises. It’s difficult to imagine the actor going to these lengths if NCIS season 23 isn’t really planning these massive storylines.
Killing someone is just one way to pull a jaw-dropping plot twist. Perhaps NCIS has other ways to shock its audience. There have been clues that Emily Wickersham may be ready to return as Ellie Bishop, which is a good kind of surprise. For now, however, fans can come up with their theories of what could be the twists that Murray is teasing.
