With production helmed by showrunner, Steven D. Binder, the series portrays a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). The concept and characters were initially introduced with two episodes of the CBS series JAG ; as a spin-off from JAG, the series premiered on September 23, 2003, on CBS. Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill are co-creators and executive producers of the premiere member of the NCIS franchise. As of 2025, NCIS was the third-longest-running scripted, live-action American prime-time TV series currently airing, surpassed only by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present) and Law & Order ; it is the fifth-longest-running scripted American prime-time TV series overall.
