The NCIS franchise has been running for over 20 years now, with the flagship show premiering in September 2003, a few months after its backdoor pilot episodes aired on JAG. With five shows currently making up the procedural universe, this popular corner of CBS’ programming is about to hit the major milestone of airing 1,000 episodes collectively. The special event will air on the 2024 TV schedule as the seventh episode of NCIS Season 21, and it’s been revealed that some Los Angeles and Hawai’i characters will be stopping by, among others.
Daniel Ruah, who starred as Kensi Blye for the entirety of NCIS: Los Angeles, and Vanessa Lachey, who plays Jane Tennant in NCIS: Hawai’i, are set to guest star in the franchise’s 1,000th episode, which will air Monday, April 15. Neither actress will appear “in person” with the members of NCIS’ main cast, but TV Line has heard that their appearances will be “nonetheless be quite fun.”
Additionally, the 1,000th episode will feature Spencer Moore, known from All American and Superman & Lois, playing Director Leon Vance’s son, Jared. While specific plot details for the episode haven’t been disclosed, co-showrunner David North told TV Line that it will involve “one of the show’s beloved characters” ending up in “grave danger,” which results in “all of the different franchises brought into this in a little bit of a different way.” There will also be a personal storyline centered around Vance, whom Rocky Carroll has been playing since Season 5, thus why Jared will be involved.
This will be Daniela Ruah’s first time reprising Kensi since NCIS: Los Angeles concluded in 2023 after 14 seasons, as well as her first time performing the character on NCIS since Los Angeles’ backdoor pilot, the two-part “Legend,” aired all the way back in 2009. However, Ruah did recently direct the episode “Left Behind,” and she helmed an episode of Hawai’i Season 3 that’s coming up. Vanessa Lachey has previously appeared in NCIS in the crossover episodes “Starting Over,” “A Family Matter” and “Too Many Cooks,” as well as stopped by Los Angeles last year for “A Long Time Coming,” another crossover installment.
Between the franchise’s 1,000th episode and the episode paying tribute to the late David McCallum’s character Ducky, NCIS Season 21 will go down as one of the more eventful seasons of this show. Season 21 kicked off with the conclusion of Nick Torres’ latest personal arc, and “Left Unsaid,” the most recent episode, put a fun twist on his relationship with Alden Parker. “Lifeline” also made a strong case for how Kasie Hines should spend more time out in the field.
Along with NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i’s continued runs, the spinoff NCIS: Sydney premiered last year, although it’s unclear if it will return for another season. Looking ahead, NCIS: Origins, which follows Leroy Jethro Gibbs in 1991, will debut on CBS sometime during the 2024-2025 TV season, and a spinoff centered on Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David will stream exclusively for Paramount+ subscribers.
