NCIS is airing its season finale tonight on CBS at 8p and last week executive producer Gary Glassberg talked about the #1 scripted show on TV.
NCIS celebrated it’s 200th episode a rarity in primetime and it did while being the most watched show on TV which is unheard of. So how does a show that has been on the air for nine years do that? Well here is what Glasberg said on that, “I think the real reason that this show is the success that is, is that cast. It’s a phenomenal group of actors and they know how to do this television show better than anybody. I know I can hand them material and we as a group will figure out how to make it work best. To me that is why it works, really.” It’s definitely working according to the numbers.
And there is someone/thign else that the show works with it and that is the N part of NCIS. Glasberg told us, “We are constantly in touch with the Department of Defense, our Navy friends and our friends at the Marine Corps. We are trying to tell a series as close to real time as we can.” He let us on some fast editing they had to when something major broke in the military world with this story, “In the instance of Osama Bin Laden, when that situation was handled, we were actually successful with the Most Wanted Board that is there on the wall. We actually put a line through that, but the episode was long filmed so we had to digitally go back in and put that line in. We did it 24 hours before it aired.”
But it isn’t only real world events that influence the show, as he told us “The Secretary of the Navy and I talk relatively often and he actually periodically comes up with things they would like us to talk about.” When asked for an example he added, “It can be anything from, like two years ago it was all about the Green Initiative. They were switching over to Biofuels and things like that, so we touched on that in an episode. I try to be as truthful to that as I can periodically through the year. It means a lot to them. It grounds the show.” He also made sure to mention that this show means a lot to the Navy, so they do what they can to make them happy.
And what makes the fans happy is the great people they get to guest star on the show. Glasberg said that the Ryan aka Jamie Lee Curtis’ storyline will be addressed tonight and we will know where her future stands with the show. Now I had to know about a celebrity family that two of the members were on the show this year and I wondered if more of them will appear. Glasberg said that Mackenzie Astin could not come back, his other brother Sean could and he would love to have their mom Patty Duke on NCIS. We will have to tune into to season ten to see if that is possible. But before we get to that tune in for the season nine finale tonight.
