When it comes to a show like NCIS, almost anything is possible. We’ve even had some supernatural-esque episodes to the series as Halloween rolls around. One of the things we’ve become used to is “familiar faces” turning up, and it looks like there are more to come in 2026.
Brian Dietzen chatted with TV Insider about the things to come in NCIS next year, and there is an exciting and rare milestone for TV shows. The 500th (!) episode will air in March, and that opens the door for some returning faces. And it sounds like those returning faces aren’t just attached to that one episode.
Brian Dietzen reveals ‘familiar faces’ will be back on NCIS
During the interview, Dietzen talked about some things to look forward to as the series returns. One of those is the return of a few familiar faces over the next few episodes, and it doesn’t sound like these are just from the flagship series.
“But one of the things that makes NCIS so great is that we do have familiar faces from the past that could pop up at any moment. And that is what’s going to happen over the next several shows.”
It’s not unusual for NCIS to bring in faces from other spinoffs. We had LL Cool J return on NCIS season 22, which allowed for an important update about Hetty. We have also seen Vanessa Lachey and Daniela Ruah appear, even just on camera via MTAC in the past.
When it does come to faces from the flagship series, we’ve just seen Roma Maffia return as Vera on the mothership series during the crossover event with NCIS: Origins. And then the returns have worked the other way, with Adam Campbell reprising the role of Young Ducky on Origins, which he started out as on NCIS.
While the focus is on the 2026 episodes, that may not be the only time we see another returning character.
Could the NCIS season 23 fall finale include one of those familiar faces?
The synopsis for the NCIS season 23 fall finale hints that we could see someone back before 2025 comes to an end. Jessica Knight is getting her first NCIS: ELITE mission, and it involves investigating a former team member.
Of course, the most obvious former team member is Elle Bishop, who left the team to work with Ziva’s former handler on some off-the-book missions. If she’s doing something that interferes with NCIS, then she could end up back on the radar for the DOJ.
There’s also former FBI agent Fornell, who used to pop up regularly when Gibbs was still on the show. He hasn’t been seen as often, but considering Parker used to work with the FBI and knows Fornell, it would make sense for him to come up. However, he’s not a former team member — at least, not in an official capacity!
Either way, with the 500th episode airing in 2026, the show is sure to make a huge deal out of it, because it’s such a rare milestone in the world of TV. So, we should expect some familiar faces then at the very least!
NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.