NCIS Franchise: Which Leads Have Closed Deals to Return Next Season?

To little surprise, CBS renewed NCIS, as well as spin-offs NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans Wednesday for the 2020-21 TV season.

As is the norm for more longer running series, new deals had to be carved out with the leads of each series to ensure they would be back for the coming season.

CBS TV studios was in an unprecedented position, with NCIS lead Mark Harmon, NCIS: LA leads LL Cool J and Chris O' Donnell, as well as NCIS New Orleans lead Scott Bakula not having deals for next season.

Could you imagine any of these actors exiting the franchise? It would make for many unhappy fans, because, well, they are the people fans think about when talk of each show comes up.

Deadline has now revealed that Harmon's deal to star in NCIS Season 18 has closed, and that he will continue to executive produce both NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans for at least one more season.

The news is unsurprising. Harmon has been with NCIS since the beginning, and has not expressed any desire to leave the series behind.

Additionally, NCIS is CBS' top-rated and most-watched drama, so there was a desire on the studio's end to keep Harmon attached for at least one more season.

The beauty of procedural dramas is that they continually reinvent themselves, and given the positive reaction to NCIS Season 17, the show will go on for several years yet.

Over on NCIS: LA, Deadline reports that LL Cool J and O'Donnell have both been asked back, and that their contracts are being finalized.

This is the best indication that both men want to continue with the series, and it will be a case of signing on the dotted line when the contracts are ready.

NCIS: New Orleans has already closed a deal with Bakula to continue with the show for a seventh season, but everyone else on the series who has been with it since its inception will need to sign new deals.

Contract negotiations can be tough, but at least we know all of the leads are staying put with the franchise.

The NCIS franchise joins Young Sheldon, The Neighborhood, FBI, Mom, Bob Hearts Abishola, FBI: Most Wanted, The Unicorn, MacGyver, SEAL Team, Blue Bloods, Magnum P.I., Bull, All Rise, SWAT, and EVIL in the renewal circuit.