Why CBS Postponed NCIS: Sydney's Season 2 Premiere by a Week

Season 2 premiere has been postponed by CBS NCIS: Sydney.

The network confirmed this on Thursday, January 16 NCIS: Sydneythe return is delayed by a week. NCIS: Sydney was supposed to return on Friday, January 31, but will now air on Friday, February 7.

The decision was made because CBS has an as-yet-unannounced special takeover time on January 31. Meanwhile The country of fire and SWAT are still set broadcast original episodes on January 31, as originally planned.

The synopsis for deferred episode teased a rogue killer on the run, and the NCIS/AFP team will do whatever it takes to crack the case. The Season 1 finale suggested that Mackey and JD's team would be investigating a potential threat to the region's stability.

Related: How many “NCIS” shows are there? It's a long list

The NCIS family continues to grow, with six current or former shows as of 2024 and two more to come. While many fans might think that the Naval Intelligence franchise began with NCIS, that is not the case. The lead NCIS show was actually JAG, which debuted on NBC in 1995. The series followed the military (…)

NCIS as a the franchise started with mewhich debuted on NBC in 1995. The show followed military lawyers in the Department of the Navy's Office of the Solicitor General, who were able to prosecute and defend criminal cases under the Code of Military Justice. After NBC canceled the show after one season, CBS rescued the show.

Fan favorite Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) was introduced with his team in the finale of the eighth season of JAG in 2003. The backdoor pilot then led to the network ordering a full first season of NCIS, which then grew into Hawaii Five-0, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawaii and NCIS: Sydney.

Most recently NCIS: Origins premiered in October 2024 with Austin Stowell playing the latest Harmon's version of the character. The backstory came less than a year after Gibbs' wife and daughter were killed. During season 1, Gibbs began working as a special agent at the NIS Camp Pendleton office while still dealing with the consequences about the loss of family.

“It's a daunting task to recreate Gibbs and come back and try to tell this story while respecting the fans and the storyline of the original show,” Stowell, 40, said. Us Weekly in November 2024. “We want to do our best as actors, artists, writers and storytellers. Even though there might be a lot of pressure, Mark Harmon makes us feel so comfortable and he makes us feel justified in our decisions.

The actor revealed that it didn't take long for Harmon to have his say for Stowell's performance.

“He gave it to me right in the room,” Stowell quipped. “He talked about, maybe not what to do, but definitely (he) guided me more in terms of attitude and mindset, things that I've learned to inhabit more and more over time.”

However, Harmon “never gave” to Stowell any notes on his acting. “He leads by example. He's a guy that I've learned a lot more about as a person than Gibbs,” Stowell continued. “He's been so welcoming — not just to me and not just to the rest of the cast, but also for the whole team. He really is such a wonderful manager for us because he makes everyone feel so comfortable.

The NCIS franchise is currently streaming on Paramount+.