Franchise Release OrderRecommended
0 / 9 watchedOne entry per series in premiere order. Within each series, watch straight through; the backdoor pilots and crossovers land in this sequence.
- 1 JAG: Ice Queen and Meltdown JAG season 8, episodes 20 and 21, aired April 22 and 29, 2003. Introduces Gibbs, Tony, Abby, and Ducky.
- 2 NCIS Seasons 1 to 23 have aired. Season 24 premieres October 6, 2026, with Michael Weatherly back for a season-long arc.
- 3 NCIS: Los Angeles 14 seasons, 2009 to 2023. Its backdoor pilot aired as NCIS season 6, episodes 22 and 23.
- 4 NCIS: New Orleans 7 seasons, 2014 to 2021. Its backdoor pilot aired as NCIS season 11, episodes 18 and 19.
- 5 NCIS: Hawai'i 3 seasons, 2021 to 2024. Cancelled April 2024.
- 6 NCIS: Sydney Seasons 1 to 3 have aired. Season 4 is held for midseason, date still to be announced.
- 7 NCIS: Origins Prequel set in the 1990s following a young Gibbs. Season 3 premieres October 6, 2026.
- 8 NCIS: Tony and Ziva 10 episodes on Paramount+, premiered September 4, 2025. Cancelled December 2025.
- 9 NCIS: New York Premieres October 6, 2026. LL Cool J returns as Sam Hanna with Scott Caan as his partner.
Story Order (Chronological)
0 / 9 watchedSame entries reordered so the 1990s-set Origins prequel comes first. Everything else plays in release order.
- 1 NCIS: Origins Set in the early 1990s at the NIS Camp Pendleton office, decades before the original.
- 2 JAG: Ice Queen and Meltdown JAG season 8, episodes 20 and 21. The in-story starting point of the modern timeline.
- 3 NCIS The main timeline begins with the series premiere on September 23, 2003.
- 4 NCIS: Los Angeles Runs parallel to the original from 2009 to its 2023 finale.
- 5 NCIS: New Orleans Runs parallel to the original from 2014 to its 2021 finale.
- 6 NCIS: Hawai'i Runs parallel to the original from 2021 to 2024.
- 7 NCIS: Sydney Runs parallel to the original from 2023 onward.
- 8 NCIS: Tony and Ziva Set after Tony and Ziva's time on the original series.
- 9 NCIS: New York Newest branch of the timeline, premiering October 6, 2026.
About NCIS
NCIS began as a two-part backdoor pilot on JAG in April 2003 and has grown into nine series and over 1,100 episodes, with the original reaching season 23 in 2025-26. Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Hawai'i have ended their runs, while Sydney, Origins, and Tony and Ziva air alongside the original.
Good to know
Season 24 of NCIS, season 3 of Origins, and the new NCIS: New York all premiere October 6, 2026, while Sydney season 4 is held for midseason with its date still to be announced. Origins is a prequel set in the 1990s, so a second order below starts there for viewers who want the story from the beginning.
