The WORST episodes of NCIS
Every episode of NCIS ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of NCIS!
Explore the inner workings of the government agency that investigates all crimes involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position. Leading this team is NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a skilled investigator and interrogator who is smart, tough and willing to bend the rules to get the job done.
#1 - Heaven and Nature
Season 23 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/16/2025
McGee and Torres try to recover a stolen truck filled with toys for the Navy’s annual Christmas drive while the truth about Parker’s mother is finally revealed. Also, Knight is given her first NCIS: Elite mission, which involves tracking down a former member of the team.
#2 - The Sound and the Fury
Season 23 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/28/2025
When a petty officer’s death is connected to a blackmail investigation, the team is forced to work with Special Agent Sawyer on the case, which takes a terrifying turn for Torres. Meanwhile, Knight is offered an opportunity to train with NCIS Elite.
#3 - Moonlit
Season 22 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/24/2025
After a Navy Lieutenant’s death reveals ties to Special Agent Sawyer, Torres and Knight uncover a murder linked to a wealthy family. Meanwhile, Parker discovers a shocking connection between his mother’s death and Lily.
#4 - Hardboiled
Season 22 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/2/2024
Torres receives intel from a confidential informant regarding top secret naval information that's at risk of being sold.
#5 - Butterfly Effect
Season 20 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/13/2023
The NCIS team jumps into motion to investigate who is responsible for a potential bio terror attack at a strip mall parking garage. Also, Knight’s father deals with a health scare while in Japan.
#6 - Big Rig
Season 20 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/23/2023
When an old pal of Torres’ comes to him – disheveled and bloodied – for guidance amidst an undercover FBI operation and then disappears, NCIS helps track him down. Also, McGee prepares to be a contestant on a popular game show.
#7 - Lost Time
Season 16 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/14/2019
The NCIS team investigates the murder of a Marine Sergeant in the States who was hailed as a war hero for his efforts overseas. Also, Gibbs turns to Doctor Grace Confalone for advice after he uncharacteristically unravels and abandons his team at a crime scene investigation.
#8 - Bears and Cubs
Season 16 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/12/2019
Jimmy is torn between family and work after his father-in-law, Ed, asks him to tamper with evidence from NCIS’ current murder investigation. Also, Ed’s poker buddy, Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., offers to help with the case.
#9 - Enigma
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/24/2004
Gibbs risks his career when his former commanding officer is accused of stealing the funds.
#10 - Dead Reckoning
Season 6 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/31/2009
Gibbs and the team must work with the shady Trent Kort to put away one of NCIS's most wanted.
#11 - The Truth Is Out There
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/16/2004
When the body of a sailor is found after a party in an illegal night club, the team investigates a number of possible leads - including blackmail and accidental death.
#12 - Jack-Knife
Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/9/2010
When a Marine is found dead, Gibbs, Fornell and the team hit the open road to bust an illegal trucking operation.
#13 - Knockout
Season 6 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/17/2009
The death of a boxer leads Vance to borrow the NCIS team and start investigating his death, while Gibbs digs into Vance's past.
#14 - The Missionary Position
Season 9 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/10/2012
Following the murder of a Marine, Tony and Ziva join Ziva’s longtime friend and mentor in Columbia in a search for a missing Marine Lieutenant and Navy Chaplain. Meanwhile, Jimmy Palmer decides who will be his best man.
#15 - Designated Target
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/13/2007
A murder investigation of a Navy Admiral takes a shocking turn when a woman, a political refugee, returns home to search for her husband.
#16 - A Weak Link
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/18/2004
Gibbs and his team investigate the death of a SEAL that occurred during a training exercise. As the investigation progresses, they come to suspect that the death was a murder rather than an accident.
#17 - Page-Turner
Season 23 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/18/2025
When McGee is kidnapped while promoting his latest book in the Deep Six crime series, the team investigates his self-professed “#1 fan” – and a potential link to a murder case involving stolen classified documents.
#18 - Double Identity
Season 7 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/9/2010
Gibbs and the team investigate the shooting of a Marine and uncovers more to his life than anyone would have ever imagined.
#19 - Mother's Day
Season 7 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/2/2010
Secrets arise when Gibbs former mother-in-law surfaces as a witness in a murder investigation.
#20 - No Good Deed
Season 12 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/7/2015
DiNozzo is partnered with his girlfriend ATF Special Agent Zoé Keates after evidence reveals that the murder weapon in an NCIS case was originally purchased for the controversial ATF sting operation “Operation Fast and Furious.” Also, Anthony DiNozzo Sr. returns to town for a special dinner to meet his son’s girlfriend.
#21 - Eye Spy
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/13/2004
When a Navy commander, who was a technical advisor to a civilian contractor for a Navy weapon, is found dead on the beach, the NCIS team investigates the murder using satellite technology.
#22 - Love & War
Season 6 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/27/2009
The team discovers a link between a sergeant's murder and his possibly treasonous private life.
#23 - Prime Cut
Season 21 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/29/2024
After discovering the remains of a Marine captain, the NCIS team travels to Texas to interrogate the suspected killer.
#24 - Flesh and Blood
Season 7 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/12/2010
Gibbs is worried about Tony's ability to handle his job when Tony's father turns out to be linked to their newest investigation, an assassination attempt on a foreign prince.
#25 - Cadence
Season 12 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/10/2015
DiNozzo returns to the military academy he attended as a teenager after a murdered Marine and alumni of the school is found clutching the photo of a current student. Also, Bishop and her husband invite Gibbs and the team out for a special dinner.