NCIS creator isn’t surprised show never got an Emmy nod
”It was really a show that was out to get eyeballs.”
NCIS co-creator Don McGill has said he’s not surprised that the show was never considered for an Emmy award.
The hugely popular police procedural, which first premiered on September 23, 2003, has launched four spin-off series and currently stands as the number 1 broadcast drama on CBS.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter to celebrate the show’s twentieth anniversary, McGill, who co-created the series alongside Donald P. Bellisario, said the show never really intended to win awards.
Related: NCIS Sydney gets new premiere date
“I don’t think it’s necessarily the kind of show that was out to get awards,” said McGill. “It was really a show that was out to get eyeballs, and so I’m not surprised that it wasn’t ever really in Emmy consideration.”
This is clearly a sentiment the show’s executive producer Mark Horowitz agrees with. The producer likened the series to chocolate cake.
“I sometimes fondly refer to NCIS as chocolate cake. Everybody knows what chocolate cake tastes like, but you still want the chocolate cake,” said Horowitz.
Commenting on the show’s popularity with viewers, Horowitz said: “You could absolutely say that the show is popular amongst people who perhaps are politically conservative or live in more rural areas.
“But at the same time, we’ll go on a college campus, and everybody there watches the show, even in Southern California. Obviously, I think it’s more popular in the central states than on the coasts.”
Awards or not, the show continues to produce spin-offs with the latest instalment in the franchise NCIS: Sydney set to premiere on Tuesday, November 14 at 8pm on CBS.
The series will now air on Tuesdays with episodes being made available on demand and to stream for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers. Paramount+ Essential subscribers will be able to access the episode a day after it airs.
