NCIS season 16: Ziva storyline draws biggest total viewership this season
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How impressive was the total? Well, the episode “She” drew in total more than 13.2 million American live viewers, which is the best total since the final episode for Pauley Perrette back in season 15. Excluding that episode (which was obviously different from your standard NCIS installment), this was the best viewership for the show since March 2018. “She” also drew a better total viewership than the season 15 average of just over 13 million.
While there are always mitigating factors anytime ratings rise or fall, there’s a pretty clear correlation here between the added viewers and the hype surrounding the episode. The first promo for “She” aired during the Super Bowl (an excellent promotional platform), and then there were more teases handed down throughout the week. While the story was still somewhat secretive, this episode was promoted a little bit more than your standard NCIS hour.
In the 18-49 demographic, “She” ended up posting a 1.3 rating — while not the strongest rating this season, it was an improvement over some recent installments.
What does this mean for the future?
It’s basically more incentive for NCIS to go down the road to reintroducing Ziva in the flesh — there are no official plans for a Cote de Pablo return, though we personally think that it would be rather silly to introduce last night’s story without at least some hope to bring the character back at some point down the line. Given that this show doesn’t usually venture into a super-serialized direction, we’d be surprised if it is mentioned over the next few weeks. Yet, wouldn’t this make for a great story at the end of the season? It seems like the perfect way to get viewership up as this season concludes, and set the stage for some epic stuff over the course of season 17. (NCIS has not been renewed as of yet, but that feels almost like a foregone conclusion.)
Related News – Check out our full review of “She” from last night, provided that you missed it
Did you end up watching NCIS season 16 episode 13 on CBS last night? Be sure to share right now in the comments. (Photo: CBS.)