While NCIS shows are mostly intended for independent viewing, from time to time a crossover brings together teams from these series. Most recently, this happened during the premiere of the 20th season of NCIS and the 2nd season of NCIS: Hawai’i on September 19, when the threat of Raven and his followers Unkindness required several characters from the flagship show, and its latest spin-off was to join forces. It has now been announced that the aforementioned shows will be affiliated with NCIS: Los Angeles for the first three-way crossover of the NCIS franchise.
According to EW, in this NCIS crossover, the main characters of all three shows will team up to stop a “mysterious and well-trained killer” whose goals include “several of their own.” , Nick Torres from Wilder Valderrama and Jimmy Palmer from Brian Dietzen from NCIS; J. Cullen (Chris O’Donnell) and Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) from NCIS: Los Angeles; and Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachet), Lucy Tara (Yasmin Al-Bastami) and Jesse Boone (Noah Mills) from NCIS: Hawaii, among others (although it’s probably best not to count on the return of Mark Harmon as Gibbs). These crossover episodes are currently in production and will be broadcast next January on CBS.
Although this will be the first time that three NCIS shows intersect at the same time, there was a period when all three NCIS shows were broadcast simultaneously. However, NCIS: New Orleans only ever crossed paths with the main NCIS series during its release from 2014 to 2021.
This will also be the first time NCIS: Los Angeles is involved in any direct intersection with another NCIS show since Anthony DiNozzo of Michael Weatherly, who starred in NCIS from its inception until season 13, stopped in “It’s All Rio’s Fault. At the same time, from 2017 to 2020, there were several crossover episodes in Los Angeles with JAG, the parent show of the main NCIS series, which ended in 2005.
While it’s good that almost 20 years after the launch of the NCIS franchise (apart from JAG), a three-way crossover is finally happening, I’m curious to see how closely these episodes will be connected. Will it be something like what we got between NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i last month, that is, two halves of a whole story? Or will each episode be available to watch on its own, although viewers will obviously get the full experience of watching all three parts with this hired killer as a connecting thread? Hopefully this will clear up as we get closer to the crossover, but for now, whether you’re a fan of just one of these NCIS shows, two or all of them, there are some major post-holiday celebrations waiting for you.
While we’re waiting to find out exactly when the NCIS three-way crossover will take place in January, check out our TV schedule for 2022 to find out which shows are still to premiere. If you want to review any episodes of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles or NCIS: Hawai’i, you can do so with a Paramount+ subscription.