“NCIS” has a lot of love from its fans. After decades on the air, its dedicated audience has developed strong opinions about what’s good and what’s bad about each series that makes up its constellation of interconnected action-dramas. They’re not afraid to share those highlights and lowlights in locations like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, where one bad episode can send a series’ overall audience score spiraling. In a series-eat-series world, consistency is the key — and sometimes the only thing fans are looking for out of their favorite dramas.

It seems that those who love the “NCIS” franchise definitely know what their favorite show in the sprawling universe is — and which one they like the least. While it’s too early to judge where “NCIS: Origins” and the reunion-laden “NCIS: Tony & Ziva” will fall on the Tomatometer, here’s a ranking of every single series in the “NCIS” world, from worst to best, as judged by users of that auspicious review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. 

The second least-popular offering in the “NCIS” franchise according to Rotten Tomatoes users is “NCIS: New Orleans.” Though the show had a long run, with seven seasons under its belt, it sits at a 62% audience approval score at press time. Just a hair above average, but not quite enough to break into the top three.

The series revolves around Dwayne Cassius Pride (Scott Bakula), known as King, a native of the Big Easy who seeks to make up for his messy, tumultuous past by leading his squad into and out of danger. The crimes King finds himself solving have a certain bayou flavor to them — there are jazz clubs to protect, and swamps to prod until they belch up bodies. Mardi Gras provides a backdrop for chaos at least once. The small cast is notable for the significant turnover over its run; only Pride, Rob Kerkovich’s Sebastian Lund, and Loretta Wade (CCH Pounder) appear in every single season of the program. That instability adds a little extra spice to the gumbo — or perhaps it destabilizes the dynamic. 

In second place is the recently canceled “NCIS: Hawai’i,” whose three seasons have pulled in a 78% audience approval score. That’s an excellent rating for such a short-lived show and a strong indication that CBS might regret sending the series to the cleaners in favor of more of Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ (Mark Harmon) adventures.

This tropical-set drama sports one of the most diverse casts in “NCIS” history. It’s also the first to feature a female lead in Vanessa Lachey’s Jane Tennant. Jane copes with single motherhood while trying to heal scars left behind by a dysfunctional childhood. On top of all of that, it sports the “NCIS” world’s first major same-sex romance, as Yasmine Al-Bustami’s Lucy Tara and Tori Anderson’s Kate Whistler spend the series falling in love.

Toward the end of Season 2, one of the longest crossovers in “NCIS” history begins, as Sam Hanna is imported from Los Angeles to help the team. He spends the entirety of Season 3 forming a team and is feted with a farewell party during the season finale. Audiences will never learn if Sam makes it back home, but it’s clear that they’re interested in the topic.