Twenty-three years' worth of content of a singular project is a lot to keep up with. Some take on the task and catch up at a terrifyingly fast rate, while some have enjoyed the slow build, watching the growth over time. For NCIS fans, any combination is possible. The series is now in its 23rd season, and with that also comes the milestone of 500 episodes. The series has had multiple iterations of the Major Crime Response Team, and is even bringing one member back as the show crosses the milestone. This week, as NCIS celebrates such a momentous milestone, we are looking back at those 23 years as part of our retrospective Collider Rewind series, as Maggie Lovittcatches up with the cast and crew.

As new actors have joined the series over the years, it's not necessarily a requirement that each new addition be well-versed in the two decades of the show's history. After the exit of Pauley Perrette, who played Abby Scuito from NCIS' earliest days, in came Diona Reasonover as the team's new forensic scientist, Kasie Hines. For Reasonover, becoming a regular in Season 16 came first, and her admiration for the already long-running procedural followed after. She told Lovitt:

"I actually joined and then became a fan. Not only have I brought myself into the fandom, but I've also gotten my wife into the fandom and my mom and my extended family into the fandom, which is great."

Reasonover caveats her excitement with the fact that "whenever NCIS is on in real life, I'm not allowed to talk. I have this fantasy that we'd be watching the episodes, and I'd be pointing out like, 'Oh, this camera angle came up because the director did it, or the writers suggested X, Y, and Z,' but instead my family is just like, 'Could you not talk? You're interrupting my show.' And I'm like, 'I'm on that.' They're like, 'Yeah, we can talk to you any time.'"

Diona Reasonover Credits "The Fans" for Huge 'NCIS' Milestone

What keeps a show going for 23 years and counting, though? There are many things: the studio's commitment to the show, the cast, the writers, the crew, the list goes on. NCIS is consistently in Paramount+'s Top 10 on the streamer, showing its continued watchability outside of people tuning in every Monday night for a new episode. It's also supported by spin-offs such as NCIS: Origins that take fans back to the days when the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was simply called the NIS. It's those same fans, tuning in eagerly to see the "origins" of their beloved franchise, that have carried it from the beginning. Reasonover shares big props to them, along with those behind the scenes, for getting NCIS to the 500-episode milestone:

"It really is the fans. I can't give credit to anyone but the producers, the writers, and the fans. Really and truly, they are keeping it alive. Every time they send us theories, or they're DMing me, like, 'Is such-and-such coming back?' I know that they're tuned in, and hey, thank you. Thank you for watching, and thank you for making this show great, amazing. Thank you for making this such a cool vehicle to be a part of."

The 500th episode of NCIS will be available to stream on Paramount+, and new episodes arrive every Monday on CBS. Stay with Collider for the latest updates and more from Collider Rewind.

Home

After 23 Years and 500 Episodes, ‘NCIS’ Still Has 1 Key to Success [Exclusive]