#NCIS to Return in 2021 With Double Episodes: Who’s Coming Back?

NCIS is officially on hiatus.

The CBS procedural said goodbye to 2020 earlier this month, leaving fans with a lot of questions.

But the biggest question is:

When the heck will the series return?

CBS announced on Thursday that NCIS would be back with fresh episodes Tuesday, January 19, 2021.

The good news is that two episodes will air on that night, making the six-week hiatus a little less frustrating.

The series will also welcome back Margo Harshman as McGee’s wife, Delilah, in the first of the two episodes.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, NCIS Season 18 Episode 4 will be directed by Rocky Carroll, who plays Leon Vance.

But what will go down in this first episode back?

“McGee and his wife Delilah’s (Margo Harshman) Bahamian vacation turns into a high-stakes mission when a case NCIS is tracking of a dead escape room manager has ties to the island,” reads the official logline from the network, but there’s also this:

Gibbs fears the worst when his search for Fornell leads to blood.

Yes, it’s going to be a long wait, but the logline seemingly confirms the action will still be taking place in a pre-COVID world.

A creative decision was made earlier this year to have the first batch of episodes take place without the pandemic at the forefront before taking the characters into a changed world later into the season.

Given how serialized recent storylines have been for NCIS, it makes sense.

What will the second episode be about?

“Gibbs and Fornell’s crusade to find the head of the drug ring responsible for Fornell’s daughter Emily’s overdose comes to a climax,” the logline reads, adding:

Gibbs and Vance finally let the team in on a case that has dangerous implications.

Perhaps the dangerous implications could be that we finally learn why Gibbs shot McGee in the season premiere?

NCIS stars Mark Harmon (NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs), Sean Murray (NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee), Emily Wickersham (NCIS Special Agent Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop), Wilmer Valderrama (NCIS Special Agent Nicholas “Nick” Torres), Maria Bello (NCIS Special Agent Jaqueline “Jack” Sloane), Brian Dietzen (Medical Examiner Jimmy Palmer), Diona Reasonover (Forensic Scientist Kasie Hines), Rocky Carroll (NCIS Director Leon Vance), and David McCallum (Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard).

What do you think will happen in these new episodes?

Remember, you can watch NCIS online right here via TV Fanatic.

NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.