# NCIS season 16

The sixteenth season of the American police procedural drama NCIS originally aired from September 25, 2018, through May 21, 2019, at the same time slot as in the previous seasons, Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. and contained 24 episodes.
NCIS revolves around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
Season 16 revolves around two major storylines after the premiere concludes the plot from the previous season's finale: a season-long arc involving a vigilante justice ring, and the reveal that Ziva David is actually alive halfway through the season. The latter fact is confirmed by her physical appearance in the final moments of the finale, "Daughters". This season takes on a darker undertone for Gibbs as he reveals to his team that he killed the man responsible for his wife Shannon and daughter Kelly's deaths.

## Cast
### Main

* Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) of the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) assigned to Washington's Navy Yard
* Sean Murray as Timothy McGee, NCIS Senior Special Agent, Second in Command of MCRT
* Wilmer Valderrama as Nick Torres, NCIS Special Agent
* Emily Wickersham as Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop, NCIS Special Agent
* Maria Bello as Dr. Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane, NCIS Senior Resident Agent and Operational Psychologist
* Brian Dietzen as Dr. Jimmy Palmer, Assistant Medical Examiner for NCIS (episodes 1–17), Chief Medical Examiner for NCIS (episodes 17–24)
* Diona Reasonover as Kasie Hines, Forensic Specialist for NCIS
* Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance, NCIS Director
* David McCallum as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, Chief Medical Examiner for NCIS (episodes 1–17), NCIS Historian (episodes 17–24)

### Recurring

* Joe Spano as Tobias Fornell, Private Detective and former FBI Senior Special Agent
* Robert Wagner as Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., father of former NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo
* Scott William Winters as Westley Clark, CIA Agent
* Margo Harshman as Delilah Fielding-McGee, DoD Intelligence Analyst and McGee's wife
* Laura San Giacomo as Dr. Grace Confalone, psychotherapist
* Don Lake as Phillip Brooks, Navy Captain
* Larry Miller as Ed Slater, Jimmy Palmer's father-in-law
* Melinda McGraw as Diane Sterling, deceased IRS Special Agent and Gibbs' and Fornell's ex-wife
* Pej Vahdat as Nigel Hakim, British Humanitarian and terrorist
* Mitch Pileggi as Wynn Crawford, U.S. Secretary of Defense
* Kent Shocknek as Guy Ross, ZNN news anchor
* Mike Farrell as Judge Miles Deakin
* Elayn J. Taylor as Odette Malone, owner of Ziva's private office
* Juliette Angelo as Emily Fornell, Tobias Fornell’s daughter
* Naomi Grace as Kayla Vance, Leon Vance's daughter
* Dionne Gipson as Mallory Madden, CIA Agent and Leon Vance's ex-girlfriend
* Kate Hamilton as Faith Tolliver, Jack Sloane's biological daughter

### Special guest star

* Cote de Pablo as Ziva David, former Mossad Officer and former NCIS Special Agent

### Guest

* Erin Cummings as Marine Major Ellen Wallace, Gibbs's ex-fiancée
* Charles Robinson as Ray Jennings, former Marine Lance Corporal
* Fred Dryer as Thomas Fletcher, retired Marine Master Sergeant
* Dabney Coleman as Army Corporal John Sydney
* Dee Wallace as Claire Hall
* Michele Boyd as Emily Ross
* Charles Tyler Kinder as young Timothy McGee
* Ashley Liao as Hayley
* Megan Gallagher as Jennifer Leo, Under Secretary of the Navy
* Merrick McCartha as Dr. Eugene Pierce

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 355 | 1 | "Destiny's Child" | Tony Wharmby | Steven D. Binder | September 25, 2018 (2018-09-25) | 1601 | 12.56 |
| Gibbs is assigned the role of acting director while the team searches worldwide for Director Vance's whereabouts. ||||||||
| 356 | 2 | "Love Thy Neighbor" | Terrence O'Hara | Scott Williams | October 2, 2018 (2018-10-02) | 1602 | 12.13 |
| After a naval officer is found dead in a hot tub, the team questions his peculiar neighbors for answers; Torres seems out of track, resulting in a disastrous guys night out with Palmer. ||||||||
| 357 | 3 | "Boom" | Leslie Libman | Brendan Fehily | October 9, 2018 (2018-10-09) | 1604 | 12.36 |
| McGee is starstruck when the team investigates an explosion outside the home of Navy Petty Officer First Class Todd Nicholas and his wife, popular reality TV star Sheba Nicholas. Vance continues physical therapy for the injuries sustained when he was held hostage and meets a woman named Mallory, but she has a secret agenda. ||||||||
| 358 | 4 | "Third Wheel" | James Whitmore Jr. | Christopher J. Waild | October 16, 2018 (2018-10-16) | 1603 | 11.87 |
| Gibbs' quiet vacation at his remote cabin is interrupted by a surprise visit from Fornell and Navy Captain Phillip Brooks, as well as a call from NCIS asking for his help locating a robber hiding in the woods near him. ||||||||
| 359 | 5 | "Fragments" | Michael Zinberg | Gina Lucita Monreal | October 23, 2018 (2018-10-23) | 1605 | 11.26 |
| The discovery of a nearly fifty-year old recording leads the team to reopen the murder investigation of a Marine supposedly fragged in Vietnam in an attempt to exonerate the man convicted as evidence surfaces that the murder was likely a suicide. ||||||||
| 360 | 6 | "Beneath the Surface" | Rocky Carroll | Scott J. Jarrett & Matthew R. Jarrett | October 30, 2018 (2018-10-30) | 1606 | 12.32 |
| A Naval officer is found dead in a truck stop bathroom alongside a man Torres knew from basic training – whom they discover was a professional hitman killed because of a job he refused to take; Palmer thinks that autopsy is haunted. CIA officer Westley Clark is introduced to the team, and Sloane is immediately suspicious. ||||||||
| 361 | 7 | "A Thousand Words" | Alrick Riley | David J. North | November 13, 2018 (2018-11-13) | 1607 | 12.47 |
| The theft of a wall from a Navy bank leads the team on the search of a mysterious street artist when QR codes are discovered in their work leading to activist sites. ||||||||
| 362 | 8 | "Friendly Fire" | Thomas J. Wright | Jennifer Corbett | November 20, 2018 (2018-11-20) | 1608 | 11.95 |
| McGee and Bishop travel to Afghanistan after a murder case in the states is linked to a string of soldiers killed by friendly fire overseas. Also, Kasie leaves the lab and accompanies Torres into the field to process additional forensic evidence. ||||||||
| 363 | 9 | "Tailing Angie" | Terrence O'Hara | George Schenck | December 4, 2018 (2018-12-04) | 1609 | 12.04 |
| After an accomplice in the robbery of an Admiral's house is released from prison, the team watches her in hopes of locating her partner and what was stolen. ||||||||
| 364 | 10 | "What Child Is This?" | Michael Zinberg | Scott Williams | December 11, 2018 (2018-12-11) | 1610 | 12.28 |
| The team's holiday plans are put on hold when the murder investigation of a Navy veteran includes the discovery of a newborn baby who has no identification and no apparent ties to a family, forcing the team to look after the infant while investigating who had stolen him. When the baby's mother is found, she decides to give the baby up for adoption. The episode ends with the baby going to live with the family originally lined up to adopt him before he was stolen. ||||||||
| 365 | 11 | "Toil and Trouble" | Leslie Libman | Christopher J. Waild | January 8, 2019 (2019-01-08) | 1611 | 12.08 |
| United States Secretary of Defense Wynn Crawford (Mitch Pileggi) demands a murder investigation involving stolen chlorine gas be shut down and that Torres and McGee are arrested for actions taken during the case. Also, Torres appears to be jealous of a new boyfriend Bishop has. The episode ends with McGee being offered a high-paying tech job and Westley Clark secretly meeting with Crawford. ||||||||
| 366 | 12 | "The Last Link" | Rocky Carroll | Brendan Fehily | January 15, 2019 (2019-01-15) | 1612 | 12.21 |
| An old family friend pleads with Gibbs to join him on a road trip to search for a missing military ID bracelet; a Navy lieutenant in NCIS protective custody is poisoned by an infamous drug dealer. ||||||||
| 367 | 13 | "She" | Mark Horowitz | Gina Lucita Monreal | February 12, 2019 (2019-02-12) | 1614 | 13.37 |
| The team finds a malnourished and confused 9-year old girl who ran away to seek refuge in a storage unit after being locked away for her entire life. Her mother, Morgan Burke, had disappeared several years prior, and the discovery of the girl leads to Morgan's cold case being reopened. Bishop discovers notes that Ziva David had kept on the case even after NCIS officially ceased investigation upon finding out her car had gone off a cliff and the death was ruled a suicide, but a wedge between Gibbs and Bishop is formed when the latter tries to explain her findings to the team. Despite Gibbs' orders for her to drop the matter, referencing rule #10 ("never get personally involved in a case"), Bishop begins her own project to find Morgan, and she is led to a shack where the suspect, Robert Hill, is keeping her captive. Bishop saves Morgan's life and she is reunited with her daughter, while Bishop makes peace with Gibbs, who subsequently burns a slip of paper with rule #10 written on it. When Bishop goes to read a letter from Morgan's mother to Hill, which is what Ziva had promised to do, Hill surprises her by revealing that another female had read the letter to him and that she was going to "haunt his dreams"; Bishop returns to the "office" Ziva had rented and finds a note without a signature. It reads: "Eleanor Bishop, for the safety of my family, please keep my secret." ||||||||
| 368 | 14 | "Once Upon a Tim" | Tony Wharmby | David J. North & Steven D. Binder | February 19, 2019 (2019-02-19) | 1613 | 12.74 |
| McGee is forced to revisit his high school days when an old password of his is found at a crime scene. ||||||||
| 369 | 15 | "Crossing the Line" | Michael Zinberg | Jennifer Corbett | February 26, 2019 (2019-02-26) | 1615 | 11.77 |
| The team investigates the mysterious death of a straight-laced sailor on a Navy destroyer. Meanwhile, Torres is frustrated when Vance has him mentor three high school students, but has a change of heart when one of them reveals he is the son of an agent who died in the explosion at NCIS headquarters. ||||||||
| 370 | 16 | "Bears and Cubs" | Diana Valentine | Scott Williams | March 12, 2019 (2019-03-12) | 1616 | 12.08 |
| Palmer's father-in-law asks him to manipulate evidence on a case, putting Palmer in a difficult position as work and family collide; Ducky debates his position on the team. ||||||||
| 371 | 17 | "Silent Service" | Rocky Carroll | Scott J. Jarrett & Matthew R. Jarrett | March 26, 2019 (2019-03-26) | 1617 | 12.18 |
| Gibbs and Bishop's investigation into the death of a Navy SEAL gets complicated when the submarine they're on dives for a mission – and nobody can contact them. After the case is solved, Vance offers Ducky the newly created position of NCIS historian instead of retiring, and he accepts. ||||||||
| 372 | 18 | "Mona Lisa" | Alrick Riley | David J. North & Brendan Fehily | April 2, 2019 (2019-04-02) | 1618 | 11.89 |
| Torres relies on his team's investigative skills after he wakes up on a dilapidated fishing boat, unable to remember the last 12 hours and his shirt covered in blood. Meanwhile, Vance continues his relationship with Mallory, unaware that she's secretly working with Westley Clark on investigating the NCIS director. He gives her a necklace as a gift, but it secretly records her meeting with Clark; Vance promptly breaks up with Mallory before Clark shows him and Gibbs a secret bank account containing a quarter-billion dollars belonging to Wynn Crawford, believing him to be responsible for embezzlement. ||||||||
| 373 | 19 | "Perennial" | Tony Wharmby | Gina Lucita Monreal | April 9, 2019 (2019-04-09) | 1619 | 11.82 |
| The NCIS team searches for a male suspect who fled a mass shooting at a naval hospital. Sloane initially recuses herself but reverses her decision after telling Gibbs that the only witness known to have seen the shooter clearly is her biological daughter who she gave up for adoption on the day she was born. (It is later revealed that her daughter recognized her and that Sloane moved from LA to be near her daughter.) The shooting was an attempt to kill a police officer, who had responded to a fatal traffic accident caused by the shooter's brother years earlier, to stop the officer presenting impact statements at the brother's parole hearings. ||||||||
| 374 | 20 | "Hail & Farewell" | Michael Zinberg | Jennifer Corbett | April 16, 2019 (2019-04-16) | 1620 | 11.88 |
| NCIS investigates the murder of Marine Major Ellen Wallace previously believed to have been killed in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, after her remains are uncovered at a construction site. Wallace is Gibbs' ex-fiancée; unlike his other relationships, Gibbs was the one to break it off. Gibbs' blood is found on the corpse's clothes, and McGee removes him from the case after Gibbs leaves his interrogation. At the time of her death, Wallace had been investigating suspected war crimes, but all records of the alleged crimes were destroyed in the Pentagon attack. Forensic scanning of an eighteen-year-old hard drive identifies the naval officer Wallace was investigating as being absent from the Pentagon at the time of the murder (this time being established by phone records of a call from Wallace to Gibbs which he refused to answer, a fact about which he feels guilty). Despite no other evidence than this and his living near the burial site at the time, the officer confesses after five minutes off screen alone with Gibbs. ||||||||
| 375 | 21 | "Judge, Jury..." | James Whitmore Jr. | Christopher J. Waild | April 30, 2019 (2019-04-30) | 1621 | 11.80 |
| Kasie enters DNA from a 30-year-old cold case into the system, incriminating ice cream truck driver Stuart Crum for poisoning several children (one of which was killed). While testifying at his trial, the team is thrown when a loophole forces a mistrial and allows for Crum's release (and subsequent death). Meanwhile, Gibbs and Vance's investigation into the illegitimate bank account requires McGee to visit the tech company offering him a new job; McGee searches their private servers for information, but is caught doing so. Interrogating the bailiff from the trial, NCIS discovers a $3 million payment that came from the offshore account, leading them to realize the murderer's own death was a hit. Gibbs and Vance immediately call for a meeting with CIA officer Clark, but upon arriving at Gibbs' house (which was broken into), they find Clark dead with Mallory standing close by. ||||||||
| 376 | 22 | "...and Executioner" | Terrence O'Hara | Christopher J. Waild & David J. North | May 7, 2019 (2019-05-07) | 1622 | 11.66 |
| Mallory had followed Clark to Gibbs’ house and shot him; she claims self-defense. Meanwhile, the judge presiding over Crum’s trial, Miles Deakin (Mike Farrell), is shown to be in control of the offshore bank account and, as such, Crum’s death (this reveals that the account finances vigilante murders). He, along with four other judges, have also been secretly investigating Gibbs over Pedro Hernandez’s death. Gibbs is attacked at the parking lot of his favorite diner by an unknown hitman, prompting him to confront Deakin alone. Kasie's forensic tests prove Mallory to be the assailant, having been hired by Deakin to kill Gibbs. Mallory's recording device disguised as the necklace Vance gave her prior is enough to incriminate Deakin. During the investigation, Gibbs angrily admits to his team that he murdered Pedro Hernandez. ||||||||
| 377 | 23 | "Lost Time" | Diana Valentine | Teleplay by : Scott Williams Story by : Scott Williams & Frank Cardea | May 14, 2019 (2019-05-14) | 1623 | 11.70 |
| While the team investigates the murder of a Navy SEAL who had helped eliminate a known terrorist leader, Gibbs suffers a breakdown that leads him to his psychiatrist. ||||||||
| 378 | 24 | "Daughters" | Tony Wharmby | Steven D. Binder | May 21, 2019 (2019-05-21) | 1624 | 12.10 |
| Former FBI agent Tobias Fornell (Joe Spano) pleads with Gibbs to do whatever is necessary to take down drug dealers after his daughter Emily is hospitalized from an opiate overdose; Gibbs is haunted by the personal aspects of the case and his history with vigilante justice, and, much like he has had with Mike Franks in the past, he struggles with visions of Diane, the dead ex-wife of both Gibbs and Fornell. After catching those responsible and coming to a resolution with Diane's ghost, Gibbs sees Ziva David appearing at his house to warn him he is in danger. ||||||||

## Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of NCIS season 16 :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Destiny's Child" | September 25, 2018 | 1.4/6 | 12.56 | 0.7 | 4.09 | 2.2 | 16.65 |
| 2 | "Love Thy Neighbor" | October 2, 2018 | 1.4/6 | 12.13 | 0.7 | 3.91 | 2.1 | 16.04 |
| 3 | "Boom" | October 9, 2018 | 1.4/6 | 12.36 | 0.6 | 3.72 | 2.0 | 16.09 |
| 4 | "Third Wheel" | October 16, 2018 | 1.2/5 | 11.87 | 0.7 | 3.82 | 1.9 | 15.70 |
| 5 | "Fragments" | October 23, 2018 | 1.2/5 | 11.26 | 0.7 | 3.73 | 1.9 | 15.01 |
| 6 | "Beneath the Surface" | October 30, 2018 | 1.3/5 | 12.32 | 0.6 | 3.52 | 1.9 | 15.84 |
| 7 | "A Thousand Words" | November 13, 2018 | 1.4/6 | 12.47 | 0.7 | 3.84 | 2.1 | 16.31 |
| 8 | "Friendly Fire" | November 20, 2018 | 1.2/5 | 11.95 | 0.7 | 3.89 | 1.9 | 15.84 |
| 9 | "Tailing Angie" | December 4, 2018 | 1.2/5 | 12.04 | 0.7 | 3.84 | 1.9 | 15.88 |
| 10 | "What Child is This?" | December 11, 2018 | 1.3/6 | 12.28 | 0.7 | 3.84 | 2.0 | 16.12 |
| 11 | "Toil and Trouble" | January 8, 2019 | 1.2/5 | 12.08 | 0.7 | 3.77 | 1.9 | 15.85 |
| 12 | "The Last Link" | January 15, 2019 | 1.3/6 | 12.21 | 0.6 | 3.77 | 1.9 | 15.98 |
| 13 | "She" | February 12, 2019 | 1.4/6 | 13.37 | 0.7 | 4.18 | 2.1 | 17.56 |
| 14 | "Once Upon a Tim" | February 19, 2019 | 1.2/6 | 12.74 | 0.6 | 3.75 | 1.9 | 16.49 |
| 15 | "Crossing the Line" | February 26, 2019 | 1.2/6 | 11.77 | 0.7 | 3.77 | 1.9 | 15.55 |
| 16 | "Bears and Cubs" | March 12, 2019 | 1.1/5 | 12.08 | 0.6 | 3.89 | 1.7 | 15.98 |
| 17 | "Silent Service" | March 26, 2019 | 1.2/6 | 12.18 | 0.6 | 3.57 | 1.8 | 15.76 |
| 18 | "Mona Lisa" | April 2, 2019 | 1.1/5 | 11.89 | 0.7 | 3.69 | 1.8 | 15.59 |
| 19 | "Perennial" | April 9, 2019 | 1.2/6 | 11.82 | 0.6 | 3.38 | 1.7 | 15.20 |
| 20 | "Hail & Farewell" | April 16, 2019 | 1.1/5 | 11.88 | 0.6 | 3.75 | 1.7 | 15.64 |
| 21 | "Judge, Jury..." | April 30, 2019 | 1.1/5 | 11.80 | 0.6 | 3.70 | 1.7 | 15.43 |
| 22 | "...and Executioner" | May 7, 2019 | 1.0/5 | 11.66 | 0.7 | 3.79 | 1.7 | 15.41 |
| 23 | "Lost Time" | May 14, 2019 | 1.1/6 | 11.70 | 0.7 | 3.75 | 1.8 | 15.45 |
| 24 | "Daughters" | May 21, 2019 | 1.2/6 | 12.10 | 0.7 | 3.89 | 1.8 | 15.86 |