When will Netflix update with season 16 and 17 of NCIS?

When a series has been airing for as long as NCIS — i.e. since 2003 — even some of the most dedicated fans could be forgiven for missing an episode, or even a season. Having most of the show available on demand via Netflix means you can start from the beginning, rewatch favorites, or leave it running in the background until the platform checks in to make sure you're still watching.

Once you've finished season 15 (the season on which we learned Pauley Perrette is leaving NCIS), however, you'll have to go back to the beginning, accept your NCIS-less existence, or find an alternative method of watching. As of this writing, neither season 16, which aired from 2018 to 2019, nor season 17, which wrapped up in April 2020, are on Netflix. Here's why we may not see the streaming giant update with season 16 and 17 of NCIS, and where you can watch them, instead.

NCIS seasons 16 and 17 may never arrive on Netflix

Wilmer Valderrama as Special Agent Nicholas Torres, Mark Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Cote de Pablo as Special Agent Ziva David in NCIS CBS

We're sorry to break it to you, but it's looking increasingly likely that, thanks to some changes at CBS, Netflix and NCIS may never team up again . The network signed its first deal with Netflix for the show back in 2008. That was about a year after Netflix added the option of streaming content to their DVD mail-out service. NCIS was one of the first CBS shows Netflix secured, a smart move given that the untold truth of NCIS is that it's still the most-watched drama on TV.

The two companies re-upped their streaming contract in 2011, when Netflix's new way to watch was taking off with subscribers. Under the new deal, CBS added shows including Star Trek, Frasier and Hawaii Five-O. That new contract was extended and embellished in 2013. Fast-forward to 2018, and CBS again signed on the dotted line, allowing Netflix to air shows from their library.

That contract, however, was set to expire in 2020, and by the time CBS merged with Viacom in December of 2019, it had already made moves to enter the streaming game in its own right. Early omens of the change in the waters came when Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods both left Netflix in February and November 2019, respectively. With the relationship between CBS and Netflix on the rocks, it looks likely that the opportunity to stream NCIS on Netflix will be collateral damage. That means neither of the new seasons are likely to hit the service — and you'll probably also lose the older episodes, too.

You can stream NCIS online, but it will cost you more

Mark Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Diona Reasonover as forensic scientist Kasie Hines in NCIS CBS

If you need your fix of NCIS action like Abby needs her Caf-Pow, there is a solution, but it involves spending more money. Every season of NCIS, including 16 and 17, is available on CBS' streaming service, CBS All Access, which costs $5.99 a month with ads and $9.99 without. In addition to revisiting every old episode, you'll be able to stream new episodes as soon as they hit TV, which means you'll be able to find out if Cote de Pablo returns for NCIS season 18 at a time that suits you.

That's obviously an additional cost every month, however, for something that's currently mostly included on Netflix. Plus, CBS' streaming service is facing a shake-up from the inside. Although CBS jumped on the streaming bandwagon relatively early, launching CBS All Access back in 2014, it faced tough competition from Netflix and Amazon, which added video streaming to Prime in 2011. CBS All Access subscriber rates are relatively low: 10 million compared to Netflix's 61 million and Amazon's 150 million (and both of those are only in the US). After the merger with Viacom, the plan was to incorporate content from other Viacom-owned properties into CBS All Access, including Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, BET, and MTV. In February 2020, however, ViacomCBS announced that it would be putting that content out on an additional streaming service, also for $9.99 a month.

So, at the moment, CBS and Netflix appear to be at a stalemate, with both facing off against not just each other, but yet another potential new rival. Meanwhile, NCIS fans who missed the show on TV but are desperate to catch up will have to pick a side in the streaming wars.

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