After a captivating follow-up season that has kept us on the edge of our seats, NCIS: Origins season 2 comes to an end with the epic season finale on CBS on May 5. But even when one season ends, fans will inevitably wonder when the next batch of new episodes will begin to hit our screens.
The fan-favorite NCIS prequel series kicked off its second season in October 2025 with another 18-episode run that included all kinds of memorable moments, like a crossover with the flagship series, a cameo from Mark Harmon, and the introductions of younger versions of iconic characters.
NCIS: Origins season 2 ends with episode 18, which is titled "Hollywood Ending," and finds the team scrambling when the possibility that their Camp Pendleton office could be on the brink of permanently shutting down. The threat of a possible shutdown has them considering what's next.
Thankfully for fans, what we do know for sure about what's coming up next is NCIS: Origins season 3. CBS renewed the hit series back in January 2026, and while there are plenty of details left to be revealed about Gibbs' latest adventures with his team, there's a bit already we do know.
That includes the timing of the season 3 premiere on CBS during the 2026-2027 television. Will fans have to wait an extended period of time for new episodes, or will the show be back soon?
NCIS: Origins season 3 is likely to premiere in October 2026
You can breathe a sigh of relief. The wait for NCIS: Origins season 3 won't be any longer than usual. When CBS revealed its Fall 2026 schedule in April 2025, NCIS and NCIS: Origins were accounted for on the Tuesday night lineup, sandwiching the new spinoff NCIS: New York. While CBS benched NCIS: Sydney until midseason, we don't have to worry about that with the prequel series.
NCIS: Origins season 3 will premiere on CBS in Fall 2026 at its new time on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. ET. Based on the two previous season premieres, fans should anticipated a mid-October 2026 premiere date for the third season. The first two seasons premiered on Oct. 14, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, and that placement in October should be particularly easy to replicate.
CBS will unveils its official premiere dates in the coming weeks, and we wouldn't be surprised if Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026 ends up being the premiere date for season 3. It's not premiering in 2027, and that's the important thing. However, there's one particularly bittersweet detail about the third season that could push the premiere date a bit further back, much to our frustration.
Ahead of the season 2 finale, news arrived that CBS has only ordered 10 episodes each for NCIS: Origins season 3 and NCIS: Sydney season 4. That's a marked decline from the prequel's usual 18-episode order and clearly allows for both Origins and Sydney to hold down the fort behind the flagship and New York throughout the television season.
But the reduced orders for both shows could potentially mean a delayed start for season 3, since there's a bit more maneuvering to be done with the three-hour block. If anything, Origins could possibly be pushed by a week or two in October, but given the show's history and the stacked Tuesday lineup, we shouldn't be waiting any longer than normal for the season 3 premiere.
Add us as a preferred source on Google