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.

Last Updated: 11/9/2024Network: CBSStatus: Continuing
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Enigma
star
7.24
1580 votes

#1 - Enigma

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/24/2004

Gibbs risks his career when his former commanding officer is accused of stealing the funds.

Directors: Thomas J. Wright
Watch Now:Apple TV
Dead Reckoning
star
7.24
1776 votes

#2 - 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.

Directors: Terrence O'Hara
Watch Now:Apple TV
Jack-Knife
star
7.27
2411 votes

#3 - 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.

Directors: Dennis Smith
Writer: Jesse Stern
Watch Now:Apple TV
star
7.28
1449 votes

#4 - 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.

Directors: Dennis Smith
Watch Now:Apple TV
Knockout
star
7.29
1780 votes

#5 - 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.

Directors: Tony Wharmby
Writer: Jesse Stern
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Missionary Position
star
7.32
2569 votes

#6 - 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.

Directors: Arvin Brown
Watch Now:Apple TV
Prime Cut
star
7.32
350 votes

#7 - 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.

Directors: Diana Valentine
Watch Now:Apple TV
Designated Target
star
7.34
1726 votes

#8 - 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.

Directors: Colin Bucksey
Writer: Reed Steiner
Watch Now:Apple TV
A Weak Link
star
7.36
1290 votes

#9 - 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.

Directors: Alan J. Levi
Watch Now:Apple TV
Double Identity
star
7.36
2621 votes

#10 - 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.

Directors: Mark Horowitz
Watch Now:Apple TV
Mother's Day
star
7.36
2696 votes

#11 - 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.

Directors: Tony Wharmby
Watch Now:Apple TV
No Good Deed
star
7.37
1257 votes

#12 - 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.

Directors: Arvin Brown
Watch Now:Apple TV
Love & War
star
7.37
1765 votes

#13 - 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.

Directors: Terrence O'Hara
Watch Now:Apple TV
Cadence
star
7.38
1314 votes

#14 - 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.

Directors: Tony Wharmby
Watch Now:Apple TV
South by Southwest
star
7.38
1808 votes

#15 - South by Southwest

Season 6 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/24/2009

When a fellow agent is murdered, the NCIS teams heads into the desert to locate a woman who might hold the answer to the mystery murder.

Directors: Thomas J. Wright
Watch Now:Apple TV
Flesh and Blood
star
7.38
2139 votes

#16 - 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.

Directors: Arvin Brown
Watch Now:Apple TV
Capitol Offense
star
7.39
1945 votes

#17 - Capitol Offense

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/7/2008

A distinguished senator asks Gibbs for help in solving the murder of a young female Naval officer.

Directors: Dennis Smith
Watch Now:Apple TV
Hide and Seek
star
7.39
1755 votes

#18 - Hide and Seek

Season 6 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/24/2009

When a young boy finds a murder weapon, the team must trace ownership of the gun to find who used it last and who was murdered.

Directors: Dennis Smith
Watch Now:Apple TV
Eye Spy
star
7.39
1496 votes

#19 - 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.

Directors: Alan J. Levi
Watch Now:Apple TV
Model Behavior
star
7.39
1452 votes

#20 - Model Behavior

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/13/2005

While filming a reality show on a Marine base, a supermodel dies and the NCIS team must discover who is the model's murderer. They discover a love triangle between the model and three other men, all suspects. Meanwhile, Jenny is disturbed by Gibbs when he doesn't want to attend an award ceremony in his honor.

Directors: Stephen Cragg
Watch Now:Apple TV
Nine Lives
star
7.40
1852 votes

#21 - Nine Lives

Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/2008

Gibbs' hunt for the killer of a marine puts him on a collision course with an old friend.

Directors: Dennis Smith
Watch Now:Apple TV
Outlaws and In-Laws
star
7.40
2061 votes

#22 - Outlaws and In-Laws

Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/3/2009

A murder investigation prompts Gibbs and the team to play family counselor to his former mentor, Mike Franks, in the hopes of preventing a bloody international conflict.

Directors: Tony Wharmby
Writer: Jesse Stern
Watch Now:Apple TV
Strange Invaders
star
7.40
365 votes

#23 - Strange Invaders

Season 21 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/1/2024

After discovering a Navy pilot's body riddled with unusual wounds, NCIS' investigation draws the team into the rabbit hole of UFO conspiracy theories.

Directors: Claudia Yarmy
Watch Now:Apple TV
In the Dark
star
7.41
1521 votes

#24 - In the Dark

Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/1/2007

When a blind photographer shoots the body of a Petty Officer on film, the NCIS team uses his special insight to investigate the crime. Meanwhile, both Gibbs and Tony are having commitment issues in their relationships.

Directors: Thomas J. Wright
Watch Now:Apple TV
Switch
star
7.41
1454 votes

#25 - Switch

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/2005

When an officer is shot to death on the freeway, the NCIS team takes upon the investigation. The first lead, a fact that the victim was leading a double life, takes them to a possible solution of the crime, but the tables are turned when the victim's dying message is discovered and it leads them to a totally different clue.

Directors: Thomas J. Wright
Writer: Gil Grant
Watch Now:Apple TV