Why There's No New NCIS: Sydney Tonight (October 6) & When Season 4 Releases

Published Oct 6, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts. The NCIS franchise is set to return tonight, October 6, 2026, but NCIS: Sydney won't be joining the lineup. NCIS' triumphant return onscreen marks a handful of notable continuations for the franchise, as the multiple series involved grow beyond the current expected lineup. NCIS season 24 will make it the longest show in the franchise. The flagship series remains popular even after almost two-and-a-half decades on the air. Likewise, NCIS: Origins season 3 will see a major shift, as the new season is expected to run for 10 episodes as opposed to 18 like the previous two. But there's also another major change coming the franchise in the form of a new series. NCIS: New York sees LL Cool J reprise his role as Sam Hanna, working with an NCIS team based out of New York City. The spinoff will be the seventh show in the franchise. According to CBS' current TV schedule, NCIS, NCIS: Origins, and NCIS: New York are expected to be the current slate of shows airing when the franchise returns later tonight. But it's not the only ongoing show the series has, either. NCIS: Sydney season 4 has been confirmed, with the joint task force of the NCIS and AFP working out of Sydney, Australia confirmed to be coming back. However, the show isn't on CBS' slate for tonight. Although the series will be coming back later on, it's not going to return in the Fall of 2026. In fact, the show's return is farther out, with a few notable reasons as to why the series isn't coming back tonight. Why There's No New NCIS: Sydney Tonight (October 6, 2026) CBS/MovieStillsDB Although NCIS: Sydney will be coming back, a number of factors have gone into the series not returning with the latest lineup of NCIS TV shows. Part of this has to do with timing. NCIS: New York is debuting tonight, meaning three shows in the franchise will be running at the same time. Adding NCIS: Sydney to the mix would make for a much later night for viewers, overwhelming with the number of episodes happening at once. It allows the new show to breathe, while promising season 4 of the established series will come out at some point. NCIS TV Show Time Airing Tonight (October 6, 2026) NCIS season 24 8:00 pm ET NCIS: New York season 1 9:00 pm ET NCIS: Origins season 3 10:00 pm ET There's also the matter of CBS debuting a number of new TV shows this year, resulting in series like NCIS: Origins getting shorter runs. This includes the legal drama Cupertino and the sitcom Eternally Yours. The network has a massive slate of TV shows to juggle, which is why the spinoff just doesn't have enough room to come back in Fall 2026. Although this means the wait will be longer to see what happens next in the series, the show will be coming back, and with it, all the expectations of the spinoff. When NCIS: Sydney Season 4 Will Release (& What To Expect) Paramount+ / ©CBS / Courtesy MovieStillsDB NCIS: Sydney season 4 will air in the 2026-27 midseason on CBS. This puts its premiere at around January 2027, though a release date has yet to be confirmed. Season 4 will be shorter as well, with the series expecting to come back for 10 episodes. Based on the shortened episode count of NCIS: Origins, it appears the plan is for NCIS: Sydney to take its place in the lineup once it's over, though the exactness of this remains to be confirmed. For now, all that's known is the show won't be back until 2027. As for the story, season 4 will continue the series' hallmark collaboration between NCIS and AFP, tackling new cases every week while the characters deal with broader storylines that continue development. Michelle Mackey, JD, Jackson, Cooper, Gleeson, and Rosie will all be coming back, working together on a number of new, harrowing cases that will push the team to their limits. NCIS: Sydney will be coming back, even though it won't be returning tonight. Release Date November 10, 2023 Network Paramount+ Showrunner Morgan O'Neill Cast Olivia Swann Michelle Mackey Todd Lasance Jim 'JD' Dempsey Directors Jennifer Leacey, Shawn Seet Writers Andrew Anastasios, James Cripps, Morgan O'Neill Franchise(s) NCIS Creator(s) Morgan O'Neill