Ncis Viewers Left on Pause: How Tuesday’s State of the Union Changes Watch Plans

For ncis viewers already waiting out a multi-week break that began in December, Tuesday, February 24 creates an extra pause: no new episodes will air because the State of the Union speech is being carried live. That means plans to jump back into the midseason premieres must shift into next week instead. Here’s the part that matters for people who mark their calendars around crime-drama nights.

Ncis schedule impact for regular viewers and binge catch-ups

Fans who track ncis on a weekly schedule are the most directly affected: the show’s midseason return was set for February 24 but has been delayed one week. Instead of a new episode in the 8/7c hour, a rerun of the season 23 winter finale will air before the presidential address. If you rely on live viewing rhythms or plan watch parties, expect the disruption to push those plans into the first week of March.

It’s easy to overlook, but the rerun chosen also reintroduces a returning character, which softens the pause by teasing the next week’s plot developments.

What will air and when — the adjusted rollout for the franchise

Here’s the compressed view of what’s changing on the Tuesday lineup:

• Tuesday, February 24: No new episode of the flagship series; a rerun of the season 23 winter finale will occupy the 8/7c slot prior to the State of the Union telecast.
• Tuesday, March 3: The first new episode to return in the 8/7c hour will be the installment that brings back a familiar character and continues the midseason arc.
• Tuesday, March 3: A second new episode for the franchise airs in the 9/8c hour, following the 8/7c return.
• Tuesday, March 3: The series set in Australia will also resume with a new episode in the 10/9c hour; that particular installment had been pulled previously and is now scheduled for early March.

Streaming catch-ups remain an option for viewers who want to review what happened in the winter finale; episodes from across the franchise are available to watch on the platform used by the shows for on-demand viewing.

If you’re wondering why this keeps coming up: the State of the Union is routinely carried live by major networks, and when it falls on a usual drama night the networks often postpone scripted premieres to avoid conflicting coverage. The result here is a synchronized one-week delay for multiple entries in the franchise.

Micro timeline: December — the shows went on hiatus; February 24 — no new episodes due to the State of the Union; March 3 — new episodes resume across the franchise.

What’s affected beyond appointment viewing? Regular viewers who follow plot arcs live will face a brief momentum stall heading into March, and promotional momentum for the midseason returns will shift by a week. The real question now is whether audiences using on-demand playback will close that gap quickly or let the delay blunt midseason buzz.

Writer’s aside: The bigger signal here is that a single national telecast can still reshape a multi-show midseason strategy, especially when several related series aim to relaunch in the same week.

Practical takeaway: if you planned to tune in for new episodes on Tuesday, February 24, update your calendar to March 3 and use the interim to stream any missed episodes so you’re caught up when the new installments arrive. Schedule notes are subject to change, and details may evolve as the networks finalize plans.