Every NCIS Spin-Off Series Ranked From Worst To Best

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https://www.looper.com/1945960/ncis-spin-offs-ranked/

BY ADAM LEVINE AUG. 25, 2025 6:18 AM EST

When the legal drama "JAG" premiered in 1995, nobody realized it was the start of one of TV's biggest franchises. Curiouser still, the franchise it birthed rarely ventured back into the courtroom, with its first spin-off, "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service," setting the tone for all that would follow, with a mix of military action, investigative mystery, and police procedural.

Arriving in 2003, "NCIS" originally starred Mark Harmon as gung-ho NCIS agent Jethro Gibbs, and for nearly 20 years he put all manner of criminals behind bars and solved any number of military mysteries. During its decades on the air, Gibbs was joined by the likes of Sam Hanna (LL Cool J), Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula), and Michelle Mackey (Olivia Swann) in a series of spin-offs that took "NCIS" across the country and around the world.

2025 sees the arrival of a new "NCIS" series with the premiere of "NCIS: Tony and Ziva," the franchise's first true spin-off, following a pair of characters who made their debut during the early days of the original "NCIS." "Tony and Ziva" marks the sixth spin-off in the "NCIS" universe, and expectations are high, especially since the previous five have delivered what fans want: exciting criminal cases, plenty of personal drama, and a certain military flavor that sets them apart from others in the genre. If you're curious where the other five spin-offs rank, wonder no longer — we've sifted through fan-made lists, user reviews, and critical scores to come up with a list of every "NCIS" spin-off, ranked worst to best.