NCIS: New York is officially the biggest new broadcast series of the season

Now, it’s not exactly news that CBS owns Tuesday nights, but here’s something you don’t see every autumn: a franchise spin-off that not only survives, but scores a proper hit straight out of the gate. The network’s just dropped their first-week audience stats, and while the top of the table is business as usual (Marshal, Tracker… you know the ones), the real story this week is hiding a bit further down, with NCIS: New York.

NCIS: New York’s first episode pulled in 10.52 million viewers (live-plus-7 multiplatform) for its debut week.

This is one of those rare times a well-worn TV formula actually manages to reboot itself with some muscle. CBS handed over a big primetime slot to NCIS: New York, a show spun off from a parent series that wrapped ages ago – three years, to be precise. You might expect tepid interest, especially as last autumn’s NCIS: Origins played in the same slot and did fine, but never caught fire. Not this time – the new series landed a frankly staggering 58% bigger audience on debut, compared with what Origins opened to last year. That’s 10.52 million, if you’re counting.

That not only makes NCIS: New York the most-watched new series across US broadcast telly this season, but it’s also managed to elbow its way into the top ten for all broadcast and streaming shows combined. Slotted at number seven, it sits right behind Netflix’s big-ticket drama and several familiar CBS brands. It’s worth remembering, as of 2026, this is CBS’s seventh NCIS spin-off in just over two decades, and everyone – including the broadcaster – seemed to think that particular gravy train had finally run out of track after NCIS: Hawai'i was axed back in 2024. Not quite.

The full league table

• 1. Marshals (CBS) – 15.14 million
• 2. Tracker (CBS) – 13.86 million
• 3. 60 Minutes (CBS) – 10.71 million
• 4. NCIS (CBS) – 10.59 million
• 5. Sheriff Country (CBS) – 10.52 million
• 6. Below (SRS 2026, Netflix) – 10.31 million
• 7. NCIS: New York (CBS) – 10.25 million
• 8. Dancing with the Stars (ABC) – 8.95 million
• 9. FBI (CBS) – 8.93 million
• 10. Chicago Med (NBC) – 8.86 million

This time around, the New York showrunners have played up the classic “buddy cop” blueprint. It’s the first time we’ve seen LL Cool J’s Sam Hanna anywhere but LA – after fourteen seasons on NCIS: Los Angeles, plus a guest stint on Hawai'i, he gets pulled back into the field in New York after an old mate turns up dead. He gets paired with Scott Caan (yes, from Hawaii Five-0, if you’re playing Six Degrees of TV Franchises at home) as the brash Nick Schaeffer, while Jennifer Beals rounds out the leads as the office boss, Robyn Wells.

The origin of the spin-off is surprisingly quick and a bit unorthodox: R. Scott Gemmill, who headed up LA for years, actually wrote the new pilot script during downtime from another project, following a push from LL Cool J himself. Gemmill’s said he liked the idea because New York is ‘the burning center of the universe’. Not exactly low on ambition, these lads.

LL Cool J’s also been talking up what separates this version from the rest, promising a mix of attitude and wisecracks that plays to both its cast and setting:

LL Cool J says fans should expect 'a lot of fun' with 'a lot of sarcasm, lot of banter, lot of witty repartees, lot of New York. It’s gonna be everything you need to get.'

You’ll find NCIS: New York running every Tuesday at 9 PM ET on CBS, and if you’re more of a streamer, each episode lands on Paramount+ the day after it airs.