NCIS season 18: Managing expectations & premiere-date waits

Typically, the middle of July is when filming starts for new episodes of NCIS — because of that, it’s probably going to be even harder to handle the wait by the time next week rolls around. We’re going to want so much in the way of news … but the reality is that we’re probably not getting any in the near future.

While we have started to hear the trickling-in of news when it comes to Vancouver-set shows like The Good Doctor and When Calls the Heart, it’s been very much quiet when it comes to the state of primetime, scripted productions in the Los Angeles area. We’ve yet to hear anything when it comes to when NCIS could start filming, let alone when it could premiere.

As of a month ago, a filming window that began in August made at least some sense — we started to hear chatter that some CBS shows like SEAL Team could start production then. That’s before cases spiked in the health crisis and everything became so much more unknown all over again. Now, we’re surrounded by question marks at every turn. There’s no sense in even speculating on a filming date now since it could so easily change.

For some more NCIS video coverage right now, check out our take on Gibbs’ future below! Once you do that, subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube and then also view our show playlist. We’ll have further news coming the moment that it’s out there…

Do we think that NCIS is better equipped than some other shows to get back to filming? Sure. It’s not a series that relies on fight scenes or romantic moments between the cast — ones that are especially hard to shoot during this crisis. It also has some larger work-spaces where characters can be socially-distanced without too much of a problem. Depending on the set, they may be able to scale back some of their on-set crew to the best of their ability. There are things working in its favor, but caution is still imperative. We’d rather keep waiting for production than have it start too early and something terrible happens.

Rest assured, though, that the folks behind the scenes at CBS, including the studio, are working to establish solutions. The writers are also thinking with the current climate and restrictions in mind. Everyone wants to get back to work — it just has to be safe and remain safe before anything substantial can happen. We hope episodes can air at some point before the end of the year, but time will tell.

Related News – Be sure to get some more information right now on NCIS, including other insight on the future

Are you hoping for NCIS season 18 production to happen within this calendar year?

Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Also, remember to stick around to get some more news on the series. (Photo: CBS.)

This article was written by Jessica Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.