The 2025 NCIS crossover event between NCIS: Origins and the main NCIS is meant to be watched in a specific order: start with NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 5, then watch NCIS Season 23, Episode 5.

Correct Watch Order

  • First: NCIS: Origins – Season 2, Episode 5, titled “Funny How Time Slips Away”.
  • Second: NCIS – Season 23, Episode 5, titled “Now & Then”.

These two episodes were scheduled and presented as a continuous two‑hour Veterans Day crossover block, with Origins airing in the earlier slot and NCIS closing the story in the later slot.

Why This Order Matters

  • The ’90s storyline and the core mystery are introduced in the Origins episode; it sets up the decades‑spanning case and key emotional beats for Gibbs and Franks.
  • The present‑day NCIS episode then pays off that setup, revisiting the old case through the current team and resolving the long‑running investigation.

Watching them out of order would drop you into the resolution first and spoil much of the backstory and character tension crafted in the prequel hour.

Extra Context for Fans

  • The crossover was promoted as a Veterans Day 2025 special , airing on November 11 as a two‑part, time‑jumping story across 30+ years.
  • It features Mark Harmon appearing as present‑day Gibbs connected to the Origins narrative, while Origins continues to focus on young Gibbs in the ’90s.

So if you are queuing it up and wondering “NCIS crossover event 2025 which to watch first,” always hit NCIS: Origins S2E5 → NCIS S23E5 in that order.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.