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Since its debut in 2003, NCIS, or the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, has become an epitome of high-stakes investigations, marked by witty banter, emotional team moments, and nail-biting chaos. The show follows a team of special agents who solve crimes involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, but it’s much more than just solving cases.
Besides the thrill, the show has legendary “rules,” movie quotes, goth-lab brilliance, and tech wizardry of various team members that make every episode feel like watching a dysfunctional but fiercely loyal family. The OG fans of the show have seen everything from espionage to murder mysteries to undercover operations, which have made them gasp for air, laugh out loud, or cry their eyes out, sometimes all at once.
With its multiple successful spin-offs, including NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawai‘i, and NCIS: Sydney, the franchise has built a global ‘navy’ of fans. And the best part is the brilliant crossovers that the franchise has produced over the years.
9 best NCIS crossover episodes that we love to rewatch
The NCIS-verse isn't just known for its standalone stories; it's known for creating moments of legendary teamwork, rib-tickling banter, and the same excitement fans felt during the Avengers crossovers. These episodes create the comfort of the original show and the thrill of shaking things up.
Below are the nine best crossover episodes of the franchise that fans love to rewatch. Let’s walk through each of these to know why they are such gems.
1) Crescent City - Part I
The episode follows Gibbs and his team as they head to New Orleans to investigate a high-stakes case of a murdered Naval officer and possible political ties. The episode introduces the new New Orleans team and Agent Pride. Here, fans see Gibbs in unfamiliar terrain, working alongside a team with a completely different rhythm.
2) Crescent City - Part II
The episode continues, and the two episodes feel like one extended adventure. The D.C. team carries on working with Pride’s crew and digging deeper into the conspiracies tied to the victim’s background and the local politics associated with it. As the episode moves further, McGee and Tony adapt to Pride’s style, but Gibbs continues with his usual no-nonsense work ethic.
3) Sister City - Part I
In this episode, the O.G. team is investigating the poisoning of a plane’s crew and passengers, with fingers pointing towards a strange military tech contractor, a chef, and a former SEAL officer. In this episode, they also work with the New Orleans squad, and along with the main investigation, it includes an emotional side-plot about a missing-person angle involving Abby’s brother.
4) Pandora's Box - Part I
This is one of the strongest crossover episodes of this franchise. In this thrilling episode, Abby’s homeland security think tank is compromised, and a terror playbook is stolen. Things are worsened when she inadvertently possesses a real bomb, and they have to seek help from the New Orleans team, again.
The episode is filled with intensity, with Abby being under pressure, Gibbs juggling the mission, and personal loyalty. When everything seemed dark, NOLA stepped in like a knight in shining armor to save the day.
5) Pandora's Box - Part II
The episode started in D.C. and ended in New Orleans, meaning this second part can be seen in the New Orleans version. After a high-intensity first half, the crossover concludes with McGee and Torres joining the New Orleans team to find the missing playbook.
The Mardi-Gras setting, the urgency of the threat, and the two titan teams deliver a strong finale. In the end, what satisfies the fans is everything tying together and watching both sides join forces and sharing the load to solve the crisis together.
6) Starting Over - Part I
This episode shows the team’s shift in scenery to Hawaii. The team gets to see new scenery and new colleagues, which is a breath of fresh air for them, but it comes with new stakes that feel broader. Behind the tropical setting of Hawaii, fans get to see an emotional roller coaster from guilt to grief and hidden secrets.
The D.C. team investigates the apparent suicide of a retired Navy officer who was a part of Palmer and Knight’s grief group. Torres gets a call to assist Jane Tennant’s team in Hawaii, who found a witness from a previous case they have worked on. What follows next is a deep dive into the team’s private lives, with many potential romantic relationships brewing.
7) T'N'T - Part II
T’ N’T is a two-part episode of NCIS: Hawai’i in which Nick Torres teams up with Jane Tannant to find the culprit behind an ambush that resulted in the death of a witness they were escorting. The body of the witness later disappears from the Jeep, leaving the team desperate for answers.
When all leads turned into dead ends with no hope in sight, Knight arrived from D.C. to the team’s rescue. The high-octane drama concludes with both teams addressing the missing witness, uncovering mind-bending secrets and misdeeds of private contractors.
8) "Too Many Cooks"
This one is the most interesting among all the episodes on the list because it includes not one, not two, but three NCIS teams. It is a crossover between the OG team, the Hawaiʻi team, and the Los Angeles team, and is what is called a triple threat. The story begins in D.C. at a retirement party for FLETC professor Dale Harding.
The celebration turns sour quickly when Harding is found dead from an apparent suicide. The incident forces the three teams to get in a huddle and strategize together. It is finally revealed that a hit man is targeting multiple team members.
9) "A Long Time Coming"
D.C., Los Angeles, and Hawaii are forced to come together when Agents Devin Rountree and Fatima Namazi are ambushed and kidnapped while looking for Hollace Kilbride, who has been MIA for a long time. The stakes rise when all three teams discover that they have a hefty bounty on their heads.
The episode ends with the team finding it hard to rescue Rountree with cartel members, hitmen, and psychopaths constantly on their tail to collect their bounty.
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Nothing gives franchise fans more excitement than watching their favorite characters crossover into each other's stories. Ask Marvel, they literally designed an entire phase around this concept. The series realized that it had many branches and decided to do the same, and what followed was pure cinematic gold. Watching different teams teaming up and working in new surroundings made every episode even more special.
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