The season 22 premiere of NCIS on CBS on Monday night, titled “Empty Nest,” set up a fractured team dynamic, with most characters scattered across various assignments. Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) is leading REACT training in California, Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) has gone deep undercover with a cartel, and Tim McGee (Sean Murray) is eyeing a promotion to NCIS deputy director.
This leaves Alden Parker (Gary Cole) holding down the fort, with Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) and Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover) increasingly concerned about the state of their once tight-knit team.
The episode opens with Knight holding a priest hostage, suspecting him to be the elusive cartel leader El Padre. The action shifts between Knight’s standoff, Parker’s attempts to decode a message from Torres, and a broader narrative about the team’s separation.
Torres, now embedded with a dangerous cartel, refuses a chance at rescue, determined to stay undercover long enough to prevent a hit on one of Knight’s former trainees. Meanwhile, the tension within the team isn’t just operational—Palmer, still reeling from his breakup with Knight, struggles to move forward.
In classic NCIS fashion, the episode balances procedural beats with character-driven drama. The reunion of the team feels inevitable but slow to unfold, while McGee’s quest for a promotion ends with a bitter twist, as Gabe LaRoche (Seamus Dever) is introduced as his new boss.
NCIS airs Monday nights on CBS.
