Country of origin United States Original network CBS | No. of episodes 24 | |
Starring Mark Harmon
Michael Weatherly
Pauley Perrette
Sean Murray
Brian Dietzen
Emily Wickersham
Rocky Carroll
David McCallum Original release September 23, 2014 (2014-09-23) – May 12, 2015 (2015-05-12) | ||
The twelfth season of the police procedural drama NCIS premiered on September 23, 2014, in the same time slot as in the previous seasons, Tuesdays at 8 pm. This is the first season in which NCIS: Los Angeles did not air after NCIS. This season, NCIS: New Orleans aired after NCIS. The entire season eleven cast renewed their contracts and returned for the new season. The premiere episode aired on September 23, 2014 and was seen by 18.23 million people.
Contents
The main antagonist of the season is Sergei Mishnev, played by Alex Veadov. This character first appears in the premiere episode "Twenty Klicks". In episode four, "Choke Hold", one of Sergei's associates is sent to the United States to kill a Russian scientist who refused to work with him. Anton Pavlenko (previously seen in "Twenty Klicks"), portrayed by Lev Gorn, a Russian counselor, reappears in this episode. Veadov returns as Sergei in "Check" where he "gets personal" with Gibbs by killing Gibbs' ex-wife Diane in the same way that Caitlin Todd was killed, stalking Rebecca, another of Gibbs' ex-wives, and staging murders mimicking the deaths of Mike Franks and Jenny Shepard. Sergei returns again in "Cabin Fever", where he is killed by Tobias Fornell, who was also married to Diane at one point and who was dealing with intense grief and depression following Diane's murder. It is revealed that Sergei and Ari Haswari are half brothers from Ari's mother, whereas Ari and Ziva David were half brother and sister from their father, Eli David.
Main
Recurring
Guest appearances
Production
On March 13, 2014, CBS renewed NCIS for this season. On June 11, 2014, at the Cannes Film Festival, NCIS was awarded the honor of being the most-watched drama in the world, with 57.6 million viewers worldwide. Gary Glasberg, the executive producer of the show, said, "As NCIS enters its 12th season, we couldn't be happier to learn we're now the #1 drama in the world. It's no secret that determination and teamwork have allowed our cast and crew to continue to deliver a show we're truly proud of. We also know we wouldn’t be here without the support and loyalty of the best fans in television. Thanks to our worldwide audience for helping us start the new season off right." In the first half of July 2014, the cast was given the script for the premiere episode, "Twenty Klicks". Filming began on this episode in the last week of July.
International broadcast
The season airs simultaneously on Global in Canada. It began airing on September 30, 2014 on Network Ten in Australia. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it premiered on January 9, 2015 on Fox.