Are NCIS: Sydney and NCIS: Hawai'i on the Brink of a Must-See Crossover?

If you were hoping for a slick NCIS: Sydney x NCIS: Hawai'i crossover, I get it. The franchise has trained us to expect team-ups. But here’s where things land right now: no crossover is locked in, and the big reason is simple — NCIS: Hawai'i is done.

So, are crossovers dead?

Not necessarily. The powers-that-be have left the door cracked for future connections across the franchise — think the flagship NCIS or the prequel NCIS: Origins — but the practical stuff is a headache. Sydney and Hawai'i aren’t exactly a quick drive apart, and coordinating schedules, budgets, and travel is a lot. Tricky, not impossible.

In the near term, with NCIS: Sydney heading into its third season, the more realistic play is one-off character appearances rather than a full-on event episode.

Why NCIS: Hawai'i got canceled

CBS never gave a tidy public reason for cutting the show after three seasons, which stung a little extra because the ratings/viewership were solid. Per Deadline, here’s what was going on behind the curtain:

• Budget squeeze: Producers reportedly agreed to a major budget cut and other concessions before the axe fell, but it still wasn’t enough to save it.
• Scheduling and corporate turbulence: The show became a casualty of a crowded slate, a cost-cutting push, and the broader uncertainty while Paramount was in the process of being sold.
• Bad breaks: Delays from the strikes, a launch that had to compete with the Super Bowl (yes, really), and CBS having already decided on five scripted renewals made Hawai'i a softer bet.
• No proper goodbye: Tough finale for a series that was the franchise’s first with a female lead — it never got a real sendoff.

NCIS: Sydney season 3 — what’s locked in

Meanwhile, NCIS: Sydney keeps rolling. The Australia-set military police procedural — the first NCIS spin-off based outside the U.S. — was renewed back in February and now has a date: season 3 premieres October 14, 2025 on Paramount+.

Episode 1 is titled 'Gut Instinct'. The official logline sums up the case-of-the-week setup with bigger-stakes fallout:

"The discovery of two missing U.S. Navy aviators adrift in the Coral Sea leads the team to expose a sinister terrorist plot."

Who’s back

Expect a mix of returning faces and new ones this season. While the full lineup isn’t announced yet, the likely returnees include Olivia Swann, Todd Lasance, Sean Sagar, and William McInnes. We’ll get the rest of the details closer to (or at) premiere.

Where to watch

Both NCIS: Hawai'i and NCIS: Sydney are streaming on Paramount+.