NCIS is going back to its roots.
The beloved CBS procedural has been on the air since 2003 for a whopping 22 seasons, and for the majority of those, fans could always count on the show keeping them busy on Tuesday nights.
For seasons 19, 20, 21 and 22 however, they made the switch to Mondays, but now, fans will have to clear their Tuesday nights again.
Coming home
This week, the show confirmed not only that it is officially in production, and its premiere date, October 14, but that for its 23rd season, it is moving back to its original airdate of Tuesdays.
A joint Instagram post from CBS Studios and NCISverse — the NCIS universe includes NCIS, NCIS: Origins, and NCIS: Sydney — announced the premiere dates for all three, the same Tuesday night in October, and declared: "Tuesdays, we're coming home."
Fans and cast alike were then quick to take to the comments section under the post and share their excitement, with NCIS: Sydney star Sean Sagar teasing: "Take over Tuesdays!! Can't wait for you all to see what we have been solving down under."
Others followed suit with: "October seems so far away! Excited for a new season of shows!" and: "Welcome home NCIS" as well as: "Yay, so excited, especially for Sydney," plus another also wrote: "Thank you! Tuesdays are always better than Mondays."
A switch in direction
Earlier this month, showrunner Steven D. Binder also opened up about how the show intends to prioritize the characters' personal lives as storylines more than ever before.
Speaking with TVLine about what viewers can expect from season 23, he said: "We really want to get to everybody in a big way."
"I know people always say, 'I watch the show for the characters' — that was always our thing — and I really want to make this a character-forward show in a way we haven't seen before," he went on, and emphasized: "So, if you're invested in these people, this is going to be the season for you."
The move is not unlike the direction of the Austin Stowell led prequel series NCIS: Origins, which premiered last year, and which focuses on a young Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the character Mark Harmon starred as on the franchise's original show for close to two decades.
Though certainly packed with action and drama, the show primarily focuses on giving fans an intimate glimpse into Gibbs' early days as a special agent, and the personal events that shaped his role on NCIS.