NCIS season 18 is in the middle of production at the moment. The series is expected to return this coming fall, with some suggesting November. Now, there's no need to wait for a long time since it has been confirmed that new episodes are coming in the mentioned month.
NCIS season 18 is set to arrive on Tuesday, November 17 at 8 PM Eastern time, on CBS. It is the final show in the NCIS franchise to premiere, with NCIS: Los Angeles season 12 and NCIS: New Orleans season 7 both premiering on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 8:30 and 9:30 PM, respectively.
NCIS season 18 premieres with the title "Sturgeon Season," which is a reference to the "fishing trip" of Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) in season 17. This particular storyline will be the focus of the first episode, and it might stick around in the story for a while.
Gibbs didn't really go on a fishing trip at the time. He went somewhere else for a personal, secret mission. He's off with Tobias Fornell (Joe Spano) on a dangerous task, which revolved in the storyline first introduced in the season 17 finale, titled "Daughters."
According to the synopsis of the premiere, Gibbs and Fornell will try to track down the drug ring's leader, who supplied drugs to the latter's daughter. There have been previous plans to revisit this storyline, and the first episode will, finally, address it.
Co-showrunner Steven D. Binder told TVLine that NCIS season 18 picks up where Gibbs was in season 17 episode 8, titled "Musical Chairs." The premiere goes back in time and will explore the character's mission and what he's been working on at the time.
Also, Binder made it clear that the premiere is set in a pre-pandemic world. This only makes sense, given that some stories in the previous installment didn't have a proper closure. The opioid ring, in particular, wasn't addressed back in season 17.
This story will not immediately be wrapped up in the premiere episode of NCIS season 18. There are plans to stick around in the past for a while before opening a new chapter. When these storylines get resolved, fans will see the series taking on the current global health crisis.
Meanwhile, aside from exploring the mission of Gibbs in the past, the premiere of NCIS season 18 will deliver interesting stories involving other characters. The episode sees the team dealing with a case of a missing cadaver from the NCIS autopsy room.
