For years, NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) has remained a prime time television staple thanks to its enduring plot lines, memorable cast members and many spinoffs. However, with all that success comes some confusion, which is why we’ve rounded up all the NCIS spinoffs, including what they are about and where you can stream them. Read on for more.
‘JAG’ (1995 to 2005)
Before NCIS, there was a show entitled JAG (Judge Advocate General), which ran for 10 seasons. It followed Harmon “Harm” Rabb Jr. (David James Elliott) as he works as a lawyer to help defend people accused of military crimes.
“I don’t know what, if any, ‘legacy’ there is for JAG in a distinguished or acclaimed way. It was a very successful show for us and CBS, and had an amazing 10-year run in total,” Elliott told From the Desk in September of 2019. “It spawned NCIS and all its derivatives and it made me proud.”
‘NCIS’ (2003 to present)
NCIS follows Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), who solves crimes ranging from murder to terrorism. The show has 22 seasons, with the 23rd expected to premiere in October of this year.
“I didn’t expect to like the script as much as I did when I first read it,” Harmon told ET Online in November of 2023. “I read ‘Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ and thought, ‘Huh, I like that name.’ And then for a brief second, when I decided that I liked the idea of the project, the name changed. Bob Johnson or something like that. And I went, ‘No, no, it’s gotta be Leroy Jethro Gibbs.’ The creator said, ‘No, you can’t play a guy named Leroy Jethro Gibbs,’ and I said, ‘Why not?’ And then it went back and I was happy about it.”
NCIS is available to stream on Hulu.
‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ (2009 to 2023)
The first NCIS spinoff came in the form of NCIS: Los Angeles, which ran from 2009 until 2023. It was set at the Office of Special Projects (OSP) in Los Angeles and followed a group of investigators, including Special Agent G. Callum (Chris O’Donnell), as they solve crimes using highly developed, hard to use technology.
“I took my chair, my NCIS bulletproof vest and badge, and the boots I wore every day. Just a little something to remember the show and a good future Halloween costume for one of my sons, I suppose,” O’Donnell told TV Insider in May of 2023.
NCIS: Los Angeles is available to stream on SlingTV.
‘NCIS: New Orleans’ (2014 to 2021)
From 2014 until 2021, NCIS: New Orleans aired on TV. The plot follows Agent Dwayne “King” Pride (Scott Bakula) as he and his New Orleans, Louisiana, NCIS team do their best to solve and prevent crimes.
“[The character of] Pride was bighearted, open, available, susceptible to being misled, making mistakes and going too far, going the extra mile, tracking people down. It gave me a lot of juicy stuff to do,” Bakula told TV Insider in May of 2021. But one thing weighs on him. “Pride killed more people in the series than I would have liked —we changed that in deference to what’s going on in our country right now. This year, we hardly drew our weapons. I’m glad about that.”
‘NCIS: Hawai’i’ (2021 to 2024)
NCIS: Hawai’i made headlines in 2021 after it was announced that they had cast their first-ever female lead. The plot follows Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey), the Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor, as she and her team do what characters in this franchise do best: solve crimes.
“Forever your Sweet Jane,” Lachey wrote on Instagram after it was announced that the show was canceled in 2024. “I wish we had a proper good-bye. I’m sorry we didn’t. I know we ALL are connected deeper than any TV show. I will go to the ends of the earth for my cast and crew! If you come across ANY of them… hire them! You won’t be disappointed. Salt of the earth people!”
‘NCIS: Sydney’ (2023 to present)
In 2023 the NCIS universe expanded to Australia in the form of NCIS: Sydney. The plot follows Special Agent Michelle Mackey (Olivia Swann) and Sgt. Jim “JD” Dempsey (Todd Lasance) and a team made up of Americans and Australians, as they try to stop danger down under.
“The wonderful thing about JD is that he really does bring the heart to the team and as does Todd in such a wonderful way,” Swann told US Weekly in February of this year. “There are moments [when] you get a glimpse of that weight, but it’s always kind of underneath the wonderful, cheeky, fun-loving, easygoing outside.”
NCIS: Sydney is available to stream on Paramount+.
‘NCIS: Origins’ (2024 to present)
In NCIS: Origins, viewers discover what happened to a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) before the original NCIS series.
“Rage, sadness, grief, regret and glimmers of hope [are all explored on the show]. Those who learn to live with grief and with loss are not moving on from it. You just learn how to live with it,” Stowell told US Weekly in November of 2024. “That is very difficult and some people are less comfortable living with it afterwards. But if this show can ease other people’s pain in any way and help them learn to live with it, I would consider that a great success.”
NCIS: Origins is available to stream on Paramount+.
‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ (2025)
The final NCIS spinoff comes in the form of NCIS: Tony & Ziva, which follows Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) and their daughter Tali (Isla Gie) as they go on the run and try and figure out who is out to get them.
“That’s what I love so much about working with Cote,” Weatherly told People magazine in September of this year. “Because sometimes the next line that comes out of my mouth is, ‘I have no response to that,’ or, ‘I don’t know what to say.’ That’s not what was written, but it ends up being in the show, because that’s Tony’s response to Ziva, which is, like, she has his number and he has her number.”
