Television series

NCIS

Name: NCIS
Genre: Drama, Action, Crime
Released: 2003
Cast: Sean Murray, Mark Harmon, David McCallum, Pauley Perrette, Rocky Carroll

NCIS is comfort-food procedural television — a squad of naval investigators solving murders, espionage, and stolen submarines with breezy banter and workplace-family warmth. Twenty seasons in, it's less about the crimes than watching familiar faces needle each other between takedowns. Best enjoyed loosely, episode by episode, for case-of-the-week satisfaction rather than serialized tension.

TVMaze rating

7.9

If you liked this

JAG1995

This is the actual show NCIS spun off from — military courtroom drama with the same DNA of duty, banter, and case-of-the-week structure, minus the forensics gimmicks.

But Courtroom procedure is talkier and slower than NCIS's field work; the 90s pacing can feel quaint now.

Bones2005

Same forensic-team chemistry and death-of-the-week structure, but swaps military brass for anthropological nerdery and a will-they-won't-they that actually pays off.

But The science is even more implausible than NCIS's, and the tonal whiplash between grisly and goofy can feel steep.

Criminal Minds2005

Trade the naval angle for FBI profilers chasing serial killers; same comfort-team rhythm, but darker, moodier, and more obsessed with the psychology of violence.

But Considerably grimmer and more repetitive in structure — profile, chase, capture, nearly every single week.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

MAS*H1972

Same premise underneath — a mismatched military unit bound by duty, processing death and horror through jokes and camaraderie, decades before NCIS turned it into a comfort-watch formula.

Funnier, sharper, and more emotionally honest than almost anything since; it essentially invented the tone NCIS still borrows decades later.

But 1970s multi-camera sitcom look and a laugh track that some modern viewers find jarring and dated.

Star Wars1977

The forensic procedural NCIS borrowed heavily from — flashier science, moodier lighting, and the same satisfaction of a team cracking an impossible case in fifty minutes.

But The visual style — glowing swabs, freeze-frame bullet paths — has aged into self-parody for some viewers.

Hawaii Five-02010no page yet

Same buddy-team energy and light-hearted action, transplanted to Oahu with better scenery and a slightly higher body count per car chase.

But Plots lean even harder into action-movie silliness; character depth takes a back seat to explosions.

Blue Bloods2010

Another CBS institution built on found-family warmth, this time a NYPD dynasty arguing about ethics over Sunday dinner instead of solving crimes with power tools.

But More family drama, less case-of-the-week momentum — patient viewers only need apply.

White Collar2009

Lighter, funnier, con-man-and-FBI-agent chemistry that scratches the same itch for banter-driven teamwork without the body count.

But Stakes are lower and stylised — nobody's getting shot in most episodes, which some viewers may miss.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit1999

The other great American procedural institution — brutal cases, dogged investigators, decades of episodes to disappear into on a rainy weekend.

But Subject matter is heavier and more upsetting than NCIS ever ventures into, week after week.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster

Cold Case2003no page yet

A gentler, more melancholic procedural cousin — decades-old murders solved through memory and grief rather than gadgets, with a killer soundtrack every episode.

But Slower pace and a sadder undertone; less zip, more elegy than NCIS ever attempts.

Archer2009

Same office-family-doing-dangerous-work dynamic and rapid-fire banter, dialed up into animated spy-agency absurdity — the workplace comedy DNA of NCIS pushed to its comic extreme.

Whip-smart, filthy, gorgeously animated spy satire with a genuinely great ensemble voice cast trading barbs between missions.

But Animated, adult-humoured, and structurally serialized in ways that will feel nothing like an evening of NCIS.

Taking Chance2009no page yet

NCIS turns military death into tidy forty-minute mysteries; this quiet, true-story film sits with the actual weight of a fallen Marine's body being escorted home — the sober flip side of the same world.

A restrained, devastating meditation on duty and grief that never raises its voice, anchored by a superb, unshowy Kevin Bacon performance.

But Deliberately slow, no mystery, no banter — pure quiet sorrow, about as far from an easy watch as it gets.