NCIS Star Leaves Fan Favorite Role and Flops in 22% Rated Crime Drama!

It’s not surprising he came back.

With the abundance of popular procedural TV shows, it seems easy to achieve success in this genre, especially if the main character is already beloved by the audience and the show airs in prime time on a major network. However, this alone may not guarantee success.

There are numerous factors that contribute to a show’s success, and if it fails to meet expectations, it often gets scrapped. CBS’s “Bull” illustrates how far a procedural can go by relying on a single actor.

“Bull,” a CBS legal procedural drama, starred Michael Weatherly, known for his role in the NCIS franchise, as Dr. Jason Bull—a psychologist who dreamed of becoming a lawyer but, after failing the licensing exam twice, settled for working with lawyers to solve tough cases.

On NCIS, Weatherly played Tony DiNozzo, a fan-favorite character with a 13-season run before his departure. “Bull” provided an opportunity for Weatherly to remain popular with viewers in a leading role. Although CBS treated the show as a success, critics and audiences felt otherwise.

Despite surviving for six seasons, “Bull” never achieved critical acclaim. The first season was criticized on Rotten Tomatoes for being pretentious, overly complicated, and an obvious vehicle for Weatherly’s solo career, earning a 22% rating. Critics soon lost interest in the show.

While you might expect the audience to be more receptive given the show’s longevity, this wasn’t entirely the case. “Bull” has an overall audience rating of 59%, with many fans turning away after co-star Eliza Dushku accused Weatherly of sexual harassment.

Recently, it was announced that Michael Weatherly will return to the NCIS franchise, reprising his role as Tony DiNozzo in a new spinoff, “NCIS: Tony & Ziva.” In the meantime, if you want to catch up on “Bull,” all six seasons are available to stream on Prime Video or Paramount Plus.