Monday night:”NCIS” led the network shows with 8.055 million viewers, a big number for TV these days.
But it’s also the lowest ever rating for “NCIS,” which was down 400,000 viewers from last week and 900,000 from its Season 18 season finale last May.
“NCIS” also introduced Gary Cole as Mark Harmon’s eventual successor. They’re not saying it but the audience knows that Gibbs is going to be in many fewer episodes for Season 19. Cole’s new character is going to run the show.
Will “NCIS” fall below 7 million next week? That’s still a good number most shows would be thrilled about. If this continues, season 20 will be the last. Also, “Law & Order” is being revived so it can break the “Gunsmoke” record of 20 seasons with number 21, maybe next spring. So “NCIS” will never be able to catch up.
