NCIS: Sydney series premiere: Why is it airing on CBS?
As we prepared for the series premiere of NCIS: Sydney tonight on CBS, how did we get to this point in the first place? Originally, the show was meant to be on Paramount+ only, but that plan shifted in the midst of the lengthy WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike.
Now, this show is getting an opportunity to have a proper run on the network, and of course we are intrigued as to how good the ratings will be.
Given that NCIS: Sydney was note written or filmed with the knowledge it would initially air on network TV, it was quite a surprise when the news was confirmed. Speaking per Deadline, here is what executive producer Morgan O’Neill had to say about learning the truth:
We were actually at a publicity shoot. I think it was the day after we’d wrapped and I was watching everyone get dolled up. One of the executive producers walked in after getting off the phone with America. Execs looked at the first four or five episodes and apparently really flipped for them. Suddenly we were on CBS primetime. I believe we’re the first Australian show ever to do that. We’ve certainly had a conversation around how excited they are by the show. This is a big franchise. A show like NCIS isn’t really in the habit of just doing one season, you know. They want to expand the universe and keep expanding it.
Given the positive reception to the first few episodes, shouldn’t that be really exciting when it comes to the future of the show long-term? As O’Neill says elsewhere in the interview, this is not the sort of franchise that tends to do just one season and move on. It is built from the ground up with the plan of staying put for a while, and we are pretty stoked for what that means at the end of the day. It’s hard not to be!
Related – Be sure to get more discussion on NCIS: Sydney leading into the premiere
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