The words “worst” and NCIS don’t really go hand-in-hand. The series is approaching the 500 episode mark. Having a dud or two (or five) is bound to happen, though. Across its 22 seasons, NCIS just had one of its lower performing episodes, but if you look closely before you go to see for yourself if the episode was really “that bad” you realize its performance might actually have nothing to do with a good or bad plot.

The episode is Season 22, Episode 4 “Sticks & Stones”, 4.76 million viewers according to Programming Insider. The logline for the episode is as follows:

“After receiving intelligence on deadly threats to multiple locations that could lead to a catastrophic war, NCIS is called in to try to neutralize the danger.”

The views, alongside the IMDb audience scores, are found in the table below in show order.

NCIS Season 22’s Lowest Viewed Episode Doesn’t Mean It’s Least Liked

From the table above, according to the IMDb audience scores, episode 2 “Foreign Bodies” is actually the least liked of the season so far. “In From the Cold” as well as “Knight and Day” are the top-rated episodes of the season so far, which also happen to be the two that directly follow the episode “Sticks and Stones.” It means that something in the episode kept people wanting to watch the season.

The more likely culprit for the low views may be the airdate, rather than the plot. “Sticks and Stones” aired the Monday before the 2024 U.S. General Election. This year’s election also included the race for U.S. President between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. People wanting to unplug prior to being glued to their TVs the following day could have very well contributed to lesser viewing numbers.

NCIS has had loyal viewers, likely some for the more than two decades its been on air. This bump in the road is nothing but a pebble in the long run, especially since, additionally, this is the first full season post the writers’ strike last year that affected much of 2023-2024 Network TV. Fans also still have the Holiday episode to look forward to, which will likely bring in even more viewers for the simple fact that it’s a holiday themed episode, which means that the show (and really the franchise as a whole) is not in dire straights.

All episodes of NCIS are available to stream now on Paramount+. Stay with Collider for the latest updates.