<P> NCIS and its characters were originally introduced in a two - part episode of the CBS television series JAG in April 2003 . The show premiered on September 23, 2003, in the United States . </P> <P> Created by Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill, and executive produced by Bellisario, Shane Brennan, Gary Glasberg, and George Schenck & Frank Cardea, NCIS stars Mark Harmon as Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, in charge of NCIS' Major Case Response Team . Based out of Washington, D.C., the team includes special agents Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander), Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), Eleanor Bishop (Emily Wickersham), Alexandra Quinn (Jennifer Esposito), and Nicholas Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), forensic specialist Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), medical examiners Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) and Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum), and SIS attaché Clayton Reeves (Duane Henry). Operational psychologist Dr Jacqueline Sloane (Maria Bello) assists the team during troubled times, while successive Directors Jennifer Shepard (Lauren Holly), and Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) command from on - high . </P> <P> On April 13, 2018, the series was renewed for a sixteenth season to air in 2018 - 19 . As of May 22, 2018, 354 episodes of NCIS have aired, concluding the fifteenth season . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Season </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Episodes </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Originally aired </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Nielsen ratings </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> First aired </Th> <Th> Last aired </Th> <Th> Rank </Th> <Th> Rating </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> Intro </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 22, 2003 (2003 - 04 - 22) </Td> <Td> April 29, 2003 (2003 - 04 - 29) </Td> <Td> N / A </Td> <Td> N / A </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 23 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 23, 2003 (2003 - 09 - 23) </Td> <Td> May 25, 2004 (2004 - 05 - 25) </Td> <Td> 23 </Td> <Td> 7.8 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 23 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 28, 2004 (2004 - 09 - 28) </Td> <Td> May 24, 2005 (2005 - 05 - 24) </Td> <Td> 22 </Td> <Td> 8.8 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 20, 2005 (2005 - 09 - 20) </Td> <Td> May 16, 2006 (2006 - 05 - 16) </Td> <Td> 12 </Td> <Td> 9.8 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 19, 2006 (2006 - 09 - 19) </Td> <Td> May 22, 2007 (2007 - 05 - 22) </Td> <Td> 15 </Td> <Td> 9.0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 5 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 19 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 25, 2007 (2007 - 09 - 25) </Td> <Td> May 20, 2008 (2008 - 05 - 20) </Td> <Td> 11 </Td> <Td> 9.2 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 6 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 25 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 23, 2008 (2008 - 09 - 23) </Td> <Td> May 19, 2009 (2009 - 05 - 19) </Td> <Td> 5 </Td> <Td> 10.9 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 7 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 22, 2009 (2009 - 09 - 22) </Td> <Td> May 25, 2010 (2010 - 05 - 25) </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 11.5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 8 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 21, 2010 (2010 - 09 - 21) </Td> <Td> May 17, 2011 (2011 - 05 - 17) </Td> <Td> 5 </Td> <Td> 11.8 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 9 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 20, 2011 (2011 - 09 - 20) </Td> <Td> May 15, 2012 (2012 - 05 - 15) </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 12.3 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 25, 2012 (2012 - 09 - 25) </Td> <Td> May 14, 2013 (2013 - 05 - 14) </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 13.5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 11 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 24, 2013 (2013 - 09 - 24) </Td> <Td> May 13, 2014 (2014 - 05 - 13) </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 12.6 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 12 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 23, 2014 (2014 - 09 - 23) </Td> <Td> May 12, 2015 (2015 - 05 - 12) </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 11.6 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 13 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 22, 2015 (2015 - 09 - 22) </Td> <Td> May 17, 2016 (2016 - 05 - 17) </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 12.8 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 20, 2016 (2016 - 09 - 20) </Td> <Td> May 16, 2017 (2017 - 05 - 16) </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 11.4 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 15 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 26, 2017 (2017 - 09 - 26) </Td> <Td> May 22, 2018 (2018 - 05 - 22) </Td> <Td> 6 </Td> <Td> 10.9 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 16 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 25, 2018 (2018 - 09 - 25) </Td> <Td> TBA </Td> <Td> TBA </Td> <Td> TBA </Td> </Tr> </Table>

How many episodes of ncis have there been