Originally NCIS was best known as the procedural that spun out of JAG, but not only did it go on to spawn a hit TV franchise, it’s also become one of the longest-running primetime dramas. NCIS Season 23 premiered on the 2025 TV schedule last month, and sometime later this season, the show will air its 500th episode. Sean Murray has been playing Special Agent Timothy McGee for nearly the entirety of that time, so naturally CinemaBlend had to get his thoughts on NCIS hitting that amazing milestone and why he thinks the show is still popular after more than two decades.
Murray shared his thoughts on the matter when I interviewed him recently about the episode “Page-Turner,” which saw McGee hallucinating his coworkers as characters from his Deep Six books, including Jessica Knight looking like a “sexy assassin” as Agent Knightshade. When the conversation turned to other topics, like what he wants to happen if/when McGee reunites with Leroy Jethro Gibbs, here’s what the actor told me when I asked him was NCIS reaching 500 episodes means to him:
It really is great, and I think a lot of it has to do with because… we’ve got the point where we’re always trying to push forward. We’ve got new iterations of the show. We’re at this episode, it’s different than our usual [kind]. The fact that we’ve done 500 episodes and that we’re not just resting on our laurels or make something easy and digestible, we’re trying to do something different.
Sean Murray debuted as Timothy McGee in NCIS’s seventh episode, titled “Sub Rosa,” and guest starred in eight Season 1 episodes total. He was upgraded to a series regular in Season 2, and now all these years later, he’s getting top billing following Mark Harmon’s exit from the show. McGee’s come a long way over the last couple decades, but more importantly, Murray is impressed by how NCIS has been able to stay relevant during that time by trying new things rather than just adhering to the same formula week to week. He continued:
And this year, there’s very much a sense of that, and the fact that we’re at 500 episodes, and people, the behind the scenes of it, everything, we’re pushing more than ever. We’re more excited than ever to tell these stories, ‘cause I think we’ve got some really good stuff coming up this year. We’ve had some great stuff, we’ve got some really good stuff, and it’s different. It’s not just your usual in and out, and I can tell you that there are gonna be things that happen this year that are going to, like, legitimately jaw on the floor. You’re gonna be shocked that we did it-sort of things, and not just like, ‘Oh, here’s a little fake out’ or blah blah blah. Like, real deal stuff. We’ve got a couple things going on with a couple of different people in the NCIS world that I think are gonna be really surprising to fans.
Six NCIS Season 23 episodes have aired at the time of this writing, and in addition to the most recent work highlighting McGee’s side gig as author Thom E. Gemcity, we’ve also seen the Carla Marino storyline conclude, met Alden Parker’s sister and watched the team reopen a case that began in the early 1990s on NCIS: Origins. It’s been an eventful month, so for Sean Murray to say that even bigger stuff is on the way has me excited about what NCIS has in store for the 2026 TV schedule. He then added:
And the fact that we’re able to do that after we’ve done 500 episodes is great. It’s almost like when you have a history that long and people kind of feel that, ok, now we know what to expect, sort of thing, it’s fun to throw some curveballs like this episode, or like some of the stuff that I can’t really talk about that we’ve got going on this year. It’s great, and I’ve never gotten bored for a moment doing this stuff. I feel like we’re telling the stories on all cylinders. I think we’re doing really good. I’m proud of us this year, I’ll be honest.
Sean Murray also mentioned earlier in the interview that “it’s a miracle to get a show made,” and even more so for it to get picked up for a year, be renewed and so on. NCIS clearly hit the jackpot when it comes to TV luck, and it’s brought us to the point where we can see it reach 500 episodes. It remains to be seen when Episode 500 will specifically air, but you can continue following along with NCIS Tuesdays at 8 pm ET on CBS, and it can also be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription.