There aren’t too many television series that are around long enough to face the challenges that NCIS has. NCIS began as a series anchored by Silent Generation and Baby Boomer authority figures with a predominantly Gen X supporting cast. Today it is anchored by a Baby Boomer and a largely Gen X/Millennial ensemble. These were its early cast members:
| Actor | Part | Age Cohort |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Harmon | Leroy Jethro Gibbs | Baby Boomer |
| Sasha Alexander | Caitlin Todd | Gen X |
| Michael Weatherly | Anthony DiNozzo | Gen X |
| Pauley Perrette | Abby Sciuto | Gen X |
| Sean Murray | Timothy McGee | Gen X |
| David McCallum | Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard | Silent |
and these are its most recent cast members:
| Actor | Part | Age Cohort |
|---|---|---|
| Gary Cole | Alden Parker | Baby Boomer |
| Sean Murray | Timothy McGee | Gen X |
| Wilmer Valderrama | Nick Torres | Gen X |
| Katrina Law | Jessica Knight | Millennial |
| Brian Dietzen | Dr. Jimmy Palmer | Gen X |
| Diona Reasonover | Kasie Hines | Millennial |
The recurring cast once reinforced the show’s multigenerational feel. Characters played by Ralph Waite, Muse Watson, and Joe Spano represented parents, mentors, and longtime colleagues rather than peers. Those kinds of recurring older characters have largely disappeared.
I presume that most of its audience are Baby Boomers. Will the transition in the cast enable it to capture viewers of a younger cohort? Frankly, I doubt it. No scripted broadcast network show has a scripted series that skews towards younger viewers. Even the streaming audience for scripted shows skews older.
I suspect CBS is just trying to hold onto the audience it has.
