NCIS fans, you may want to pay attention to this.
As new episodes of season 23 air every Tuesday night on CBS, fans have seen familiar faces return (like Emily Wickersham as Ellie Bishop), the death of NCIS director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll), and the NCIS being shut down.
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 airs on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, per Deadline’s March 30 announcement.
While we know this is not a fun update for longtime NCIS fans, there’s no need to worry. There’s so much left to explore come season 24, and it’s important to know that this isn’t the only show that’s airing a season finale at this time.
NCIS’s hit spinoff, NCIS: Origins (which was greenlit for season 3 in January 2026), aired its season finale on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. Meaning: the NCIS franchise is going dark for a little while—but both shows will hopefully be back in the fall of 2026!
The finale episode of NCIS season 23, titled “Sons and Daughters,” will see the team forced to confront its organization’s legacy after an explosion that occurred on the anniversary of a coffee shop bombing the year prior. Elsewhere, the episode will see Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) take center stage as his long-lost son, Mateo Garcia (Patrick Keleher), expresses his desire to work with NCIS.
Star Wilmer Valderrama (who plays Nick Torres) dropped a sneak peek on Instagram, which you can see below.