NCIS Producer Details What You Should Expect from Season 23

Published: October 10, 2025

By Kayla DeKraker

As NCIS’ 23rd season approaches, creatives behind the show promise both resolution and new mysteries ahead for the hit procedural drama.

Executive producer Steven D. Binder gave some hints about the upcoming season in an interview with TVLine, including if “the Carla Marino story would tie into the Lily mystery and the anomaly in Eleanor Parker’s death certificate.”

“The more we thought about it, we thought, ‘Sure, there’s a surprise there, right?’ Sometimes when you get further along, something opens up as a natural organic development. But in terms of us forcing it or bringing it there, it really felt like these should be two separate parts of this guy’s life,” Binder explained.

As far as the death certificate situation goes, Binder said, “We’re going to unfold that onion a lot more quickly this time. We have a good story there. With a lot of these things, the audience gets ahead of the story on some level. But I can tell you that we’ve got some fun twists coming up.”

TVLine also asked if there will be any connections made between the flagship show and TONY & ZIVA, which premiered in September.

Though Binder would “love” to make that happen, “it’s very difficult, especially when we’ve been shooting and writing for months in advance, and I had not been given that date. But that would be fantastic. I wish there’d been less secrecy surrounding that so we could have done more.”

CBS renewed NCIS in February, alongside a slate of other shows.

“These returning shows represent a mix of long-standing hits and a new generation of fan favorites,” said Amy Reisenbach, CBS Entertainment president. “In collaboration with our extraordinarily talented partners in front of and behind the camera, we look forward to delivering another successful season.”

Movieguide® gave last season’s episode 4 a -1 content score. Part of the review reads, “NCIS: ‘Sticks & Stones’ is excellent. It has lots of exciting tension and funny humor. There’s even a little romance between the medical examiner, Jimmy, and Agent Jessica Knight.”

Movieguide® notes that the episode “has a strong Christian worldview. One major character’s Christian faith solves the conflict over launching the tactical nukes. The character says he’s guided by his faith. He recalls his father preaching the Gospel and his mother leading the church choir.”

However, “NCIS: ‘Sticks & Stones’ does have some light foul language, though. So, MOVIEGDUIDE® advises caution for older children.”