The Small Detail In NCIS Season 19 That Only True Fans Noticed

"NCIS" has been on the air for 19 seasons. That's an impressive feat for any show, but "NCIS" does have the luxury of boasting a diehard fan base who just can't get enough of watching the titular agency solve mysteries and save the day. While some fans believe that the series is long past its peak, it's still finding ways to entertain viewers nonetheless. Considering that "NCIS" has been on the air since 2003, it just needs to be enjoyable at this point to satisfy the core audience.

As with most procedural crime dramas, "NCIS" follows a tried and tested formula. If you've seen one procedural, you know the score. However, "NCIS" has thrown a couple of surprises into the mix in recent times — ones that have shocked viewers. The first was the departure of franchise mainstay Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon). Main characters have come and gone in the past, but Gibbs was the face of the series for almost two decades and seemed destined to stick around forever.

Some of the other changes have been less upfront, though they haven't escaped the attention of eagle-eyed viewers.

Everyone loves an underdog, which is why so many fans root for the agents in "NCIS." While viewers are never in doubt of their ability to get the job done, their efforts tend to be unappreciated by the media and the wider world. However, that all seemed to change in the "Face the Strange" episode.

As Reddit user OkGuitar3773 noted during a recent Reddit discussion, a news report within the episode actually credited the team for protecting a witness from an Albanian crime kingpin and his hired guns. Other fans were shocked by the revelation, too.

While responding to the post, another Redditor suggested that it could signify that the media is warming up to the team. "Doesn't happen very often," wrote ptazba. "Maybe they're finally getting street cred with the media."

However, not every fan was in agreement with this sentiment. One critic of the episode, who goes by the name Bust_Flusterer, thinks the news report resulted from poor writing and short attention spans. "I just figured that the writers got lazy and just ignored the history involved. They have been ignoring continuity since Season 2."