‘NCIS’ Hits Episode 500: Showrunner Steven D. Binder on Surviving Cast Turnover and Why He Believes ‘There Will Be Always Be an ‘NCIS,’ Barring the Total Collapse of the Network Broadcast Model’

Mar 24, 2026 11:40am PT ‘NCIS’ Hits Episode 500: Showrunner Steven D. Binder on Surviving Cast Turnover and Why He Believes ‘There Will Be Always Be an ‘NCIS,’ Barring the Total Collapse of the Network Broadcast Model’

By Chris Willman

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Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

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CBS

There’s the Indy 500, and then there’s the NC-500. “NCIS” will air its 500th episode Tuesday night — a rarefied air shared in scripted prime-time television only by “Gunsmoke,” “Lassie,” a couple of “Law and Order” series and a couple of animated shows, not all of which were actually on the air for as many seasons as the 23 “NCIS” has racked up. The show plans to offer up a surprising development with the unveiling of episode 500, but perhaps nothing is as shocking — albeit a surprise that has been spread out — as this procedural continuing to be a top 10 series, now, in what ought to be its dotage, if there was any likelihood that it could endure this long at all.

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