JAG

JAG (U.S. military acronym for Judge Advocate General) is an American legal drama television series with a U.S. Navy theme, created by Donald P. Bellisario, and produced by Belisarius Productions in association with Paramount Network Television (now CBS Studios). The series originally aired on NBC for one season from September 23, 1995, to May 22, 1996, and then on CBS for an additional nine seasons from January 3, 1997, to April 29, 2005. The first season was co-produced with NBC Productions (now Universal Television) and was originally perceived as a Top Gun meets A Few Good Men hybrid series. In the spring of 1996, NBC cancelled the series after it finished 79th in the ratings, leaving one episode unaired. In December 1996, the rival network CBS picked up the series as a midseason replacement and aired 15 new episodes as its second season. For several seasons, JAG climbed in the ratings and ultimately ran for nine additional seasons. JAG furthermore spawned the hit series NCIS, which in turn led to spin-offs NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawaiʻi, and NCIS: Sydney. In total, 227 episodes were produced over 10 seasons. At the time of the original airing of its fifth season in the United States, JAG was seen in over 90 countries worldwide. Premise The series follows the exploits of the "judge advocates" (i.e. uniformed lawyers) in the Department of the Navy's Office of the Judge Advocate General, based in the Washington metropolitan area. In the line of duty judge advocates can prosecute and defend criminal cases under the jurisdiction of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (arising from the global presence of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps), conduct informal and formal investigations, and advise on military operational law.