The twenty-second season of NCIS was announced on April 9, 2024[1] and premiered on October 14, 2024, to coincide with NCIS: Origins. This is the third season (along with seasons 18 and 21) to not premiere in the usual September.
Gary Cole as Alden Parker, Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) of the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) assigned to Washington's Navy Yard and former FBI Special Agent.
With McGee interviewing for the Deputy Director position, Torres engaged in a cartel operation and Knight in California, Parker finds himself all alone at his desk. Suddenly he receives an emergency call from Torres asking for assistance, fearing his cover was blown. Suspecting a mole at Camp Pendelton within the REACT team, Parker flies to California to investigate. Alongside Knight, they began searching for Torres and the cartel boss, known as "El Padre". In the meantime, DoJ General Investigator Laroche investigates NCIS due to recent leaks in their operations, with REACT team member Moreno found as the main suspect. Knight, in order to prove Moreno's innocence and to save Torres' life, goes to extremes to expose "El Padre" and his accomplice and manages to save both agent's lives. Knight reveals to Parker that she wants to come back to D.C. Ultimately, McGee learns from Vance that the NCIS Deputy Director position was given to Laroche rather than him, just a couple of minutes after he found out that the mole might've been someone at the high ranks of DoJ.
Vance prepares for diplomatic talks with Venezuela to improve relations between the countries, but a Venezuelan undercover agent is poisoned and drops dead in Vance’s office. The team investigates discreetly while Vance’s casual girlfriend Lena Paulsen (see 20x05 “Guardian”) attends the talks as a NATO official. The case escalates to the prevention of an assassination attempt which would derail the talks entirely. After closing the case, Vance and Lena take a step forward in their relationship.
A squatter called "Hal" is found murdered in the basement of a house belonging to a Navy SEAL returning from deployment, leading the team to investigate the history of the house. Meanwhile, Torres tries to convince his co-workers to turn Ducky's old office into a gym, leading Kasie to ask the others about alternate ways they would like to see it used. Also, McGee beginning his own investigation into Deputy Director Laroche, suspicious of his true loyalties.
Parker takes a call in the middle of the night that informs him that a threat made by Russia against Europe has been intercepted, which is feared to kick off a catastrophic global war. Parker tries to buy his team enough time to decode a second message before the acting president gives an order to launch a nuclear bomb against the assailant, which would almost certainly start a war. Meanwhile, Knight and Palmer finally talk about their future, and they admit they still love each other but whereas Knight wants to advance her career, Palmer wants stability for himself and Victoria following Breena and Ducky's deaths.
A former Navy Captain with dementia is on the run when his memory lapses in and out, revealing his past as a Soviet spy. The team must work with the CIA to track him down before he leaks classified information. Meanwhile, Torres works on cultivating his profile on an online dating app.
Torres receives info from a confidential informant that her Naval Intelligence husband is giving away classified information, only for the informant's husband to be found deceased. Meanwhile, Palmer and McGee work as youth soccer referees and deal with angry parents after McGee makes a controversial call.
