NCIS season 19: Why is the show moving to Mondays? CBS explains

One of the biggest surprises for all of the 2021-22 season is the idea of NCIS season 19 airing on Monday nights. We are, after all, talking about one of the biggest longtime success stories in TV history, and it has built the majority of its audience airing Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. There’s always a risk associated with changing times, and that’s before even adding the risk associated with Mark Harmon potentially leaving the show.

What we’re trying to say in the end here is simple: It’s an odd move, even if CBS does have an explanation for why they’re doing it.

Check out our NCIS season 18 finale review now! In this video we talk all about the big cliffhanger, Bishop’s exit, and a number of other topics. After you watch, remember to SUBSCRIBE to Matt & Jess on YouTube; there are going to be even more videos coming soon as we build up to the September 20 premiere!

Speaking via TVLine, programming head Kelly Kahl made it clear that they “hope to improve the [Monday] time period significantly” with this move, and that they also “hope that it can be a strong lead-in to help launch NCIS: Hawai’i.” So basically, the move is being made to try to make some other time periods stronger. They know that they’ll three hours of FBI programming on Tuesdays now and more than likely, that will be just fine.

While Kahl seems optimistic that the show can retain the majority of its audience on Tuesdays, we wouldn’t be shocked if there is as much as a 15-20% drop. There’s the natural erosion that comes from one year to the next, and then there’s both the time change and Harmon’s uncertain future. CBS is going to have to work hard to make sure that viewers are educated from the start, especially those who aren’t regular TV watchers. Because the show is moving from a Tuesday to a Monday, there may not be a lot of awareness of the premiere date until after the show airs.

Related – Check out a new extended promo for the NCIS premiere

Do you think NCIS season 19 will be hurt by this particular timeslot?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do just that, stick around — there are some more updates ahead and we don’t want you missing those. (Photo: CBS.)

This article was written by Jess Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.