{"id":213970,"date":"2025-12-31T00:48:43","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T00:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/31\/ncis-is-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving-thanks-to-spinoffs\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T00:48:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T00:48:43","slug":"ncis-is-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving-thanks-to-spinoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/31\/ncis-is-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving-thanks-to-spinoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"NCIS Is the Gift That Keeps on Giving Thanks to Spinoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It\u2019s been more than 20 years since NCIS<\/em><\/a> premiered as a backdoor pilot on JAG<\/em> \u2014 and the genre of criminal investigation series has never been the same.<\/p>\n

NCIS<\/em> debuted in 2003, following Mark Harmon<\/strong>\u2019s Leroy Jethro Gibbs<\/a> and his team of rowdy and somewhat green Naval Investigators \u2014 including Michael Weatherly<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Anthony \u201cTony\u201d DiNozzo and Sean Murray<\/strong>\u2019s Timothy McGee \u2014 as they found justice and answers for those killed or affected by crimes in the armed forces.<\/p>\n

While there have been a lot of personnel changes over the past two decades, including Weatherly\u2019s 2016 exit and Harmon\u2019s 2021 departure, NCIS<\/em> has remained a gift of a show \u2014 one that keeps on giving, for crime lovers.<\/p>\n

Sure, spinoffs NCIS: New Orleans<\/em>, NCIS: Los Angeles<\/em> and NCIS: Hawai\u2019i<\/em><\/a> have all run their respective courses, but the flagship series was standing strong at the start of 2025 \u2014 and its spinoff game even stronger. (New Orleans<\/em> ended in 2021, Los Angeles<\/em> in 2023 and Hawai\u2019i<\/em> in 2024.)<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Emily Wickersham Surprises \u2018NCIS\u2019 Fans With Bishop\u2019s Season 23 Return<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tNCIS debuted in 2003 and more than 20 years later, fans are still captivated by the show \u2014 no matter who is starring on it. When the CBS drama premiered, fans met Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and his team, which initially consisted of Kate Todd (Sasha Alexander), Anthony \u201cTony\u201d DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Abby Scuito [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

NCIS<\/em> entered its 23rd season in fall 2025, something all of Us fans could, and very much did, celebrate.<\/p>\n

The fall TV schedule also included new seasons of two beloved spinoffs, NCIS: Origins<\/em> and NCIS: Sydney<\/em><\/a>, as well as a new iteration of in the universe with familiar faces: NCIS: Tony & Ziva<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n

\u2018NCIS\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\n Gary Cole, Sean Murray, Wilmer Valderrama and Katrina Law.<\/span> Bill Inoshita\/CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To say 2025 was full of riches for NCIS<\/em> fans would be an understatement. NCIS<\/em> dove into Alden Parker\u2019s (Gary Cole<\/strong>) childhood, the death of his mother and teased Special Agent Ellie Bishop\u2019s (Emily Wickersham<\/strong>) mysterious return to the show \u2014 and the season isn\u2019t even over yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in our 23rd season, and you know, we\u2019re still trying to do different shows and not trying to just do the same old thing,\u201d Murray, 48, exclusively told Us Weekly<\/em><\/a> in November of the OG series. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to bring new stuff into it. And I think that\u2019s one of the reasons why I\u2019ve never been bored here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray, the only original NCIS<\/em> cast member still on the show<\/a>, noted, \u201cWe\u2019re always looking for the kind of, the interesting angle on things and a different take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray\u2019s costars, which currently include Cole, Wilmer Valderrama<\/strong><\/a>, Katrina Law<\/strong>, Brian Dietzen<\/strong>, Rocky Carroll<\/strong> and Diona Reasonover<\/strong>, have also made it so fans keep coming back season after season in support.<\/p>\n

NCIS<\/em>\u2019 spinoffs, however, are proving to be an equally valuable piece of the franchise\u2019s success in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u2018NCIS: Sydney\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\n Olivia Swann, Todd Lasance.<\/span> Daniel Asher Smith\/Paramount+<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NCIS: Sydney<\/em> premiered in 2023, making it the first international iteration of the show. With female Special Agent Michelle Mackey (Olivia Swann<\/strong>) at the helm, fans have been taken into a whole different world of problem solving.<\/p>\n

Mackey, along with her Australian Federal Police (AFP) counterpart Jim \u201cJD\u201d Dempsey (Todd Lasance<\/strong>), have viewers shipping them while also wondering how they can work side by side with so many cultural differences.<\/p>\n

With the start of season 3, fans finally started to sink their teeth into the complex characters that make up their team \u2014 and the wild adventures that can happen in the Outback and beyond.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Katrina Law Wants Her \u2018NCIS\u2019 Character to Collab With Cote de Pablo\u2018s Ziva<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tKatrina Law\u2019s dream collaboration includes Cote de Pablo reviving her NCIS character, Ziva David, and working alongside Jessica Knight. \u201cI think if Ziva came back and we got a good couple of scenes together, I would be beyond stoked,\u201d Law, 38, exclusively told Us Weekly, noting that \u201cTiva,\u201d a.k.a. Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe main thing for the characters is the past coming up to haunt us. And there is an overarching kind of conspiracy that somehow links to Mackey,\u201d Swann, 33, exclusively told Us<\/em><\/a> in October of the current season\u2019s evolution. \u201cIt\u2019s very, very interesting and very intricate. We are upping the ante in a way that I didn\u2019t even think was possible. There is more action, there\u2019s more drama, there is more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

She teased, \u201cIt\u2019s just a fun, wild ride, and we get to kind of tag along with this found family, these misfits who are just trying to keep people safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swann added that the writers really brought their A-game this season. \u201cWe have a treasure hunt. We have an alien abduction in the outback,\u201d she promised. \u201cWe have a podcast cold case from years ago. We have a nanotech assassin. We have explosions up the wazoo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018NCIS: Origins\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\n Mariel Molino, Austin Stowell.<\/span> Erik Voake\/CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NCIS: Sydney<\/em> isn\u2019t the only spinoff that upped its game going into the fresh 2025 seasons. NCIS: Origins<\/em>, which is actually a prequel series that debuted in 2024 didn\u2019t shy away from drama, romantic entanglements or high-stakes cases to kick off season 2 earlier this year.<\/p>\n

NCIS: Origins<\/em> follows a young Gibbs, played by Austin Stowell<\/strong><\/a>, as he gets his start at NIS (it was once called Naval Investigation Service) in \u201890s while located in Southern California. His career with mentor Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid<\/strong><\/a>) begins after Gibbs\u2019 wife and daughter are killed amid his tour overseas \u2014 which OG NCIS<\/em> fans already know all about.<\/p>\n

During season 2, however, the lingering romantic feelings between Gibbs and partner Lala Dominguez<\/a> (Mariel Molino<\/strong>) became a major focus after she was nearly killed in a car accident to end season 1.<\/p>\n

Even though the series follows the NCIS<\/em> cannon \u2014 so fans know Gibbs will be married a total of four times<\/a> \u2014 viewers can\u2019t help but root for Lala and Gibbs to be endgame<\/a>. That desire for an entire franchise to somehow alter its trajectory speaks to the power of the acting in this show and just how beloved the stories are among fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we can\u2019t play out this love, we can play out the subtleties of wanting someone and how that affects you in every aspect of your life, through work, in your career, in your personal life,\u201d Molino, 33, exclusively told Us<\/em><\/a> in October when asked about Lala and Gibbs\u2019 future. \u201cYou just want to prove them wrong or make them proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018NCIS: Tony & Ziva\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\n Cote de Pablo, Michael Weatherly.<\/span> Marcell Piti\/Paramount+<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In September, Paramount+ added to the NCIS<\/em> legacy with the premiere of NCIS: Tony & Ziva<\/em>. If you\u2019ve been around since day 1 of the OG series, then you could\u2019ve guessed exactly what this spinoff was about. Tony DiNozzo (Weatherly) and Special Agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo<\/strong>) and their story after they both left NCIS.<\/p>\n

During their time on NCIS<\/em>, the pair fell in love and after Ziva was presumed dead following an explosion at her family compound in the middle east, Tony discovered they shared a daughter named Tali. Ziva\u2019s perceived death led to Tony leaving his job in Washington, D.C., to care for Tali and find out who harmed his true love.<\/p>\n

NCIS<\/em> fans eventually learned that Ziva was alive but it wasn\u2019t until the Paramount+ show that they were privy to the missing years between Tony and Ziva once they were reunited. The creative spinoff included flashbacks to the years of 2020-2025<\/a> to tell the story of how the couple got back together, split up and coparented before being thrust back together to protect their daughter Tali from an imminent threat in modern-day Paris.<\/p>\n

NCIS: Tony & Ziva<\/em> was canceled in December<\/a> after just one season, but for fans of the couple it finally gave Us answers \u2014 and for that we are grateful.<\/p>\n

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