Why NCIS Was a Re-Run This Week

NCIS fans were treated to an unexpected re-run on Tuesday night due to the announcement of Derek Chauvin‘s verdict. The network announced that its whole Tuesday night lineup would be re-runs after Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd on Tuesday afternoon. This also left room for a CBS News special called The Chauvin Verdict.

NCIS has been stretching out its Season 18, which has fewer episodes than usual overall because the coronavirus pandemic delayed production. The last new episode of the series premiered on Tuesday, April 6, and fans have been dying for a new installment. Sadly, it was delayed by a week when the Chauvin verdict rocked the world and consumed all of the news media with its ramifications. NCIS Season 18, Episode 12, “Sangre,” is now expected to premiere on Tuesday, April 27.

CBS also aired a re-run of FBI on Tuesday night instead of a new episode as planned. Its 10 p.m. ET time slot usually hosts FBI: Most Wanted, but that show was preempted altogether in favor of The Chauvin Verdict, hosted by Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell.

ABC, NBC and Fox kept their broadcast schedules the same as ever, in spite of the groundbreaking news. However, their regular nightly news programs and the associated cable networks dedicated plenty of time to the Chauvin story. Chauvin’s murder of Floyd on May 25, 2020, prompted a fresh wave of anti-racist protests across the country, which were unprecedented in some ways.

A jury made up of six white people, four Black people and two multiracial people found Chauvin guilty of three charges — unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Their verdict was read by Judge Peter Cahill in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Cahill also accepted the prosecution’s motion to revoke Chauvin’s bail and put him back into police custody.

Chauvin was returned to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office on Tuesday night, then transferred to the Minnesota Department of Corrections’ Oak Height State Prison. His sentencing is scheduled for late June, according to a report by CBS News. He could face up to 40 years in prison for the second-degree murder charge, up to 25 years for the third-degree murder charge and up to 10 years for the second-degree manslaughter charge.

In the meantime, activists are calling for greater systemic reform to policing practices in general to prevent more cases like this one. The conversation continues but is now splintered on a local, state and national level.