Once a show becomes a hit, it typically doesn’t take long for everyone involved to want to recreate the magic. As a result, there is a long history of popular shows spawning spin-offs, even though those series finding success is far from certain. For example, there are six NCIS series of varying quality. That said, there have been some television spin-off series that have become incredibly popular and lasted for years.

Since NCIS is set to return for a 23rd season, it can be easy for fans to forget that the CBS show is a spin-off too. While NCIS features members of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service solving crimes involving the U.S. Navy, it was spun off from JAG, a series that focused on lawyers who worked for the same branch of the military. Now, it turns out that NCIS may be set to celebrate a major JAG anniversary during its upcoming season.

NCIS season 23 may celebrate JAG’s 30th anniversary

In September 2025, TVLine published a preview of the upcoming fall television season. That article quoted NCIS’ showrunner, Steven D. Binder, talking about the plans for the military police procedural drama series’ upcoming 23rd season. When the outlet talked to Binder about his plans for the upcoming season, the show’s boss was asked if NCIS would mark the 30th anniversary of JAG’s first episode premiering. According to how Binder responded, NCIS season 23 may feature a JAG anniversary tribute.

““I’d like to, It’s funny you ask, because I was just at Don Bellisario’s 90th birthday party and I did say something about that to him….””

NCIS showrunner Steven D. Binder

The first episode of JAG aired on September 23, 1995 when the show was still being produced for NBC. The show would soon switch to CBS, where it became a huge enough hit that it aired for 10 seasons until its finale aired on April 2005.

While it has been more than two decades since JAG’s finale aired, it is pretty easy to imagine how NCIS season 23 could commemorate its 30th anniversary. If NCIS wanted to make the tribute subtle, it could just feature the members of the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps becoming a major part of storylines. However, a more exciting and ambitious celebration could include NCIS appearances from JAG stars like David James Elliott or Catherine Bell. Either scenario would be great to see if NCIS’ showrunner moved forward with the idea of celebrating JAG’s anniversary.