I Completely Forgot the NCIS Pilot Aired in a Different Show!

NCIS has become a powerhouse franchise for CBS, but its origins trace back to a pilot that was part of another show which didn’t enjoy the same long-lasting success. The NCIS franchise has now spawned five spinoffs, taking the team of naval investigators to different cities and countries. To date, CBS’s franchise boasts over 1,000 episodes across 46 seasons, with no signs of slowing down.

NCIS began through a backdoor pilot in JAG, a legal action drama series that initially aired on NBC before being dropped after one season and picked up by CBS. JAG went on to become a popular series in the late 1990s and early 2000s, airing nine more seasons on its new network. JAG was conceived as a hybrid of Top Gun and A Few Good Men, following military lawyers and officers navigating complex legal cases, high-stakes missions, and personal dilemmas within the Judge Advocate General’s Corps.