NCIS shows in order (and where they're streaming)

Can you believe that the NCIS franchise started as a spin-off of another series? The original series was a spin-off of JAG, but it took on a life of its own.

The very first series is the flagship one that brought us a story of federal agents who only investigate crimes that involve the Navy or Marines. That is their jurisdiction, and it’s fun to see when two federal agencies end up fighting for the jurisdiction over the case. Usually that means some Gibbs and Fornell moments.

The flagship series started as a two-episode backdoor pilot of JAG. Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, David McCallum, and Robyn Lively guest starred as members of the NCIS unit coming into investigate the murder of a JAG officer in a park.

From NCIS to NCIS: Hawaii and beyond

NCIS was then picked up to series. The first season then premiered on Sept. 23, 2003. It was an immediate success, and it wouldn’t take long for a franchise to spawn.

NCIS: Los Angeles

Like the flagship series, NCIS: Los Angeles was a backdoor pilot. It got two episodes in NCIS Season 6, titled “Legend” Part 1 and Part 2. We met a few members of the LA team, including Sam Hanna, G. Callen, Kensi Blye, and Eric Beale.

Just like NCIS, Los Angeles was quickly picked up to series in September 2009. It was the second of the shows to be canceled, coming to an end after 14 seasons.

NCIS: New Orleans

The second spin-off was NCIS: New Orleans, which got a two-episode backdoor pilot in the flagship series. You’ll need to turn to NCIS Season 11 for this one. The episodes are “Crescent City” Parts 1 and 2.

We met Dwayne “King” Pride, Meredith Brody, and Christopher LaSalle in these two episodes as Gibbs and Bishop headed to New Orleans. DiNozzo and McGee remained in DC to work with Fornell on the case.

It was that year that NCIS: New Orleans was picked up to series. This was the first of the spin-offs to be canceled, coming to an end after seven seasons.

NCIS: Hawaii

The franchise brought its first female lead in NCIS: Hawaii. This series didn’t get a backdoor pilot. Instead, we were immediately introduced to the characters in the series premiere, including Vanessa Lachey as Agent Jane Tennant.

This show has brought us some crossover events. We’ve had a couple of two-episode crossovers with the flagship series and in 2023, the two and Los Angeles brought the first ever three-way crossover, which was a huge success.

The series is still airing on Mondays at 10/9c on CBS after the flagship series.

NCIS: Sydney

In February 2022, we learned that another spin-off was in the works. This time, we’d go international. NCIS: Sydney was ordered and it was picked up to series very quickly.

This didn’t get a backdoor pilot. It also hasn’t had any crossover events with the other shows. Part of that will be due to filming locations, but it will also be linked to the timing of filming. The series is much shorter than the others, following the Australian style of programming with just eight episodes. It did air on CBS during fall 2023, partly due to the strike action delaying other shows.

NCIS: Sydney has been renewed for a second season.

Other NCIS shows in the works

There are a few other shows that we can look forward to. Right now, there is a lot of focus on a prequel series titled Origins. This one will take us to the 1990s, where Gibbs joins Mike Franks’s team after just becoming a federal agent. It takes place shortly after the deaths of Shannon and Kelly.

The series is set to air on CBS.

We will also get a spin-off starring Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo at long last. Right now, the show is dubbed Europe, but that could be just a working title. We certainly hope so!

The series will only stream on Paramount+.

Where to stream all the JAG spin-off shows

If you need to catch up on any of these shows, there is some great news. Everything is in one place. You can watch everything on Paramount+.

New episodes of NCIS and Hawaii air on Mondays on CBS and then stream on Paramount+ the following day.