It seems history is about to be made in more than one way this fall for the NCIS franchise! Not only will fans be getting the first-ever three-hour block of NCIS programming on CBS, but fans will also be getting the first crossover between NCIS and NCIS: Origins.
NCIS star Wilmer Valderrama and NCIS: Origins star Austin Stowell broke the news on the NCIS Instagram, revealing that the two shows will crossover this fall. While franchise crossovers are nothing new for NCIS, this will mark the first time the franchise will stage a crossover with a pair of shows set in two entirely separate timelines.
“Get ready for a crossover like no other, we’ll work a case that spans over decades,” Valderrama teased of the crossover event.
As Stowell confirmed, the special crossover event will see the two shows teaming up on Veterans Day 2025, which happens to fall on November 11. The event will kick off at 8/7c on CBS, but it has not yet been confirmed whether the crossover will begin with NCIS or if we might see it kick off with NCIS: Origins airing at a special time.
Details about the plot of the crossover are not yet known, but as Valderrama teased the case will be one that spans over decades. This will likely entail the NCIS team catching a case in the present day that will somehow be connected to a case Gibbs and the NIS team worked back in the day, as NCIS: Origins is set in the '90s as an origin story to Gibbs.
Because the shows are set in two separate periods, it's unlikely we're going to see the character actually crossing over and interacting with one another. Rather, we'll likely see the show weave the storylines together with transitions to and from the present day. Who knows though, maybe we'll get to meet a present day version of one of the NCIS: Origins characters who has not yet been officially introduced in the flagship show. That would certainly be a fun way of tying the crossover together in a unique way.
Of course, the biggest question likely to be on the minds of fans is whether the crossover could bring Mark Harmon back to the flagship series. While NCIS: Origins has brought Harmon back to the franchise with a cameo in the series premiere and Harmon narrating the show, we've not seen Harmon reprise his role as Gibbs on NCIS since his exit from the series in season 19 back in 2021.
With NCIS and NCIS: Origins crossing over presumably via a case connected to NIS, it would be fun to see Gibbs pop up in the present day to lend some assistance or even give some background on the case!
Given the crossover is coming November 11, details should begin to come together in the weeks ahead! In the meantime, fans can look forward to the returns of NCIS, NCIS: Origins, and NCIS: Sydney on Tuesday, October 14 on CBS.