There are a lot of teases about the NCIS season 23 premiere out there, with many of them focusing on Parker and his need for revenge. However, that’s not the tease that we’re most concerned about.
In a recent tease from showrunner Steven D. Binder, we learned that there may be a jump the shark moment coming up. That’s not what the show wants, exactly, but the words are out there, and we can’t help but worry!
A family is growing in NCIS season 23
When chatting with TVLine, Binder shared that one of the team’s family will grow in a surprising way. He even ended the tease with the comment, “and hopefully won’t be Jump the Shark-ing.” That’s the bit that has us concerned.
Jump the shark is a term coined after Happy Days, where Fonzie literally jumps over a shark while on water skis. This stunt arguably led to a decline in the series, and in 1985, Jon Hein used this as a way to describe when TV shows opt for shocking moments purely to generate attention.
There are many times in TV show history that this has been used, but NCIS hasn’t really struggled with that in all 22 seasons so far. The fact that Binder is worried that there will be a jump the shark moment has us concerned. Otherwise, why would he bring it up?
Is this connected to McGee’s storyline in NCIS?
We know that in NCIS season 23, there is going to be a personal arc for McGee that is surprising but welcoming. With comments that a team member’s family is going to grow, it certainly connects back to theories that McGee and Delilah are going to find out they’re having another child. This would be surprising considering there are risks to Delilah if she goes through another pregnancy.
There are also concerns of McGee learning about other family members. During the recent season, McGee learned that he had a half-sibling out there thanks to DNA tests, and he immediately thought that his father had had an affair. It turned out that his father was a sperm donor, and this is a quick way to expand his family in a shocking way.
I will say that Binder didn’t just say one team member’s family would grow. He said that “at some point we hope to expand the family of our characters in a way that will be shocking.” So, that would suggest that it’s not just McGee. It still has us more and more worried about the creative quality of the series, especially 23 seasons in.
NCIS season 23 premieres on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 8/7c on CBS.