‘NCIS’ Season 18 Premiere: How to Watch, What Time and What Channel

The NCIS Season 18 Premiere is almost here, and we have all the details on how to watch it, what time it airs and what channel you need to be tuned to. The new NCIS season kicks off Tuesday night, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m. ET, only on CBS. For those who choose to stream rather than watch broadcast TV, services such as Hulu and Sling offer live TV options that allow subscribers the opportunity to watch shows like NCIS live at the time of airing. CBS All Access subscribers will likely be able to watch the season premiere the day after it airs.

Fans can likely expect a thrilling premiere, as we already know that it will feature guest stars Victoria Platt — playing NCIS Special Agent Veronica “Ronnie” Tyler — and Joe Spano, who plays recurring fan-favorite character T.C. Fornell. In the premiere, Fornell will join NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) on a case that has become personal to Fornell. Tyler will be working alongside Gibbs.

In addition to Fornell’s case, the team will also be dealing with a strange case that hits close to home, literally. A cadaver has gone missing from the NCIS autopsy room, and Dr. Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) appears to have possibly been assaulted by the culprits. In previously released sneak peek photos from the episode, Palmer was seen talking to Gibbs and Tyler while holding an ice pack to his head.

Like nearly all TV shows, NCIS was forced to shut down production during Season 17, due to the coronavirus pandemic. This casued the show to have a shortened season. Series co-showrunner Frank Cardea previously spoke to TV Line about what the final episodes would have held, and revealed that they had planned “a very surprising ending.” However, he also noted that it would not necessarily “have [been] a cliffhanger.”

“We do plan to go forward with the episode in the early part of Season 18 but will probably reevaluate the ending when the time comes,” Cardea added. He also shared that the show’s creative team has “a lot of flexibility” with the episodes they did film. “We can pretty much air the first six episodes in any order that we choose,” Cardea explained.