INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

‘NCIS’ Season 14 Cancellation Rumors Continue: No New Episode This Week

By Alexandria Ingham
Published on: 01:24 PST, Nov 30, 2016

The cancellation rumors surrounding NCIS Season 14 continue, and partially due to a lack of new episode this week. Are these rumors true or was there another reason for the lack of new episode this week?

NCIS cancellation rumors have been rampant for a few weeks now. As the Inquisitr previously reported, rumors that Mark Harmon would leave the show caused a new flurry of speculation that CBS would cancel the show. This is despite CBS already confirming NCIS Season 15 for next year and no statement sharing any plans to go back on that decision.

What hasn’t helped is the dip in ratings. With Michael Weatherly’s departure last season, fans have struggled to get back into the groove of the show. The new characters haven’t been enough, with fans calling for Weatherly to reprise his role as Tony DiNozzo. So far, there are no plans for Weatherly to return, as his own new show Bull has performed strongly on the network.

The ratings haven’t dipped dangerously low yet. NCIS Season 14 is still marketed as the number one rated drama for the network, suggesting that it will continue on the network as planned next year. CBS will then revisit the plans to see if it should be canceled or renewed for a 16th season.

So, if the show isn’t going to be canceled yet, why was there no new NCIS Season 14 this week? The long-running Navy crime drama was not the only show to skip a week this week. It also isn’t like the cancellation decision was last minute. Fans knew last week that the show would not be on this week, along with NCIS: New Orleans and Bull.

A one week break doesn’t mean danger for a show. However, it isn’t completely clear why CBS has opted for a week off. Carter Matt reminds readers that Bull and other shows had already had an unexpected two-week break earlier in the month, due to the World Series and Presidential Election.

It is possible that Thanksgiving week was originally going to be the week off, but due to the unexpected week off for the World Series episodes needed to air. NCIS had a Thanksgiving-focused episode last week, which should have aired a week earlier. Airing that this week wouldn’t have made that much sense. To keep the schedule on track, the week break may have been needed for this week instead.

Another theory is that due to the unexpected week off, there needed to be a few changes to the episode running order. This meant some extra behind-the-scenes work to get the next episodes back on track. The extra week off was necessary just to help facilitate that.

It is also possible that this week had already been planned as a break. Networks tend to know the weeks that historically perform poorly, so refuse to air new episodes. There may have been something major on a different network that CBS decided not to battle against, which is why reruns were aired during World Series week since CBS didn’t want to battle against FOX for the ratings.

There is no confirmation that NCIS is in danger of cancellation just yet. The speculation is just a rumor at this time. CBS has so far confirmed NCIS Season 15 for next year and hasn’t made any comment on the idea of going back on that confirmation just yet. If the ratings drop a high amount then there are chances that the network will change its mind, but that hasn’t happened yet.

NCIS Season 14 will continue next week with Episode 9 “Pay to Play.” It will then air for another week before going on its winter break. Tune in at 8 p.m. on Tuesday for more NCIS Season 14.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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