NCIS fans, you may want to pay attention to this.
As new episodes of season 23 air every Tuesday night on CBS, fans have gone through quite a bit. Between seeing old friends pop in (like Emily Wickersham as Ellie Bishop), the death of NCIS director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll), and the NCIS being shut down, it’s hard to think anything else could put viewers on the edge of their seats.
Although NCIS clearly has more stories to tell (especially since the show got renewed for season 24), there is always a curveball with this show. And in this case, fans will not be happy to learn that the NCIS season 23 finale will air on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, per Deadline’s March 30 announcement.
But don’t worry—there’s still plenty of time before NCIS season 23 wraps. And it’s important to know that this isn’t the only show that’s airing a season finale at this time.
Along with shows like Tracker, Marshals, and Fire Country finishing up their storylines, NCIS’s hit spinoff series, NCIS: Origins (which got greenlit for season 3 in January 2026), will also air its season finale on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. Meaning: the NCIS franchise may go dark for a little while, but both shows will hopefully be back in the fall of 2026!
Now, for those wondering what is in store for the rest of NCIS season 23, the April 7 episode (titled “Knick-Knack”) will see the team having to solve a murder that occurred on a cruise ship. To figure out who did it, the members end up on a mysterious scavenger hunt, with a dying Naval captain leaving the last clue to the case.