Before ‘NCIS’ Was Its Own Franchise, It Spun Off From This Legal Drama

The Big Picture

• JAG followed a group of military lawyers and had a unique mix of courtroom drama and military action.
• NCIS was spun off from JAG in 2003, introducing iconic characters like Gibbs and Abby, and has become one of the most successful TV franchises.
• Harm and Mac from JAG made a guest appearance on NCIS: LA, providing closure to their ambiguous finale and showcasing the franchise’s staying power.

The NCIS franchise is network television royalty, with the flagship show boasting over 20 seasons and multiple different spin-off series set around the world. However, even though NCIS served as the launching point for several other shows, it is also a spin-off series itself. NCIS first started as a spin-off series to an iconic legal procedural from the late ’90s: JAG. JAG was a legal drama that ran for 10 seasons from 1995 to 2007 and is the true original series for the NCIS franchise. Though the first season premiered on NBC, the following nine seasons of JAG found their home on CBS, establishing the new home for the series, and all its spin-offs, where they would earn decades of critical and commercial success.

What Is ‘JAG’ About?

JAG follows a group of enlisted lawyers who prosecuted and defended cases related to the American military, known as JAG (Judge Advocate General). The series starred David James Elliot as Harmon “Harm” Rabb Jr. and Catherine Bell as Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie, a pair of Navy lawyers facing various challenges and mysteries connected to military criminal cases. Harm was introduced as a Lieutenant in JAG, but was previously a Naval Aviator prior to acquiring night blindness. His most frequent collaborator, Mac, was introduced as a regular character in the second season and came from a troubled background as a youth, but nonetheless successfully rose in rank to become Judge Advocate for the U.S. Marines. The two had one of television’s best will-they-won’t-they relationships that lasted up through the finale of the series.

JAG was described as Top Gun meets A Few Good Men, featuring a combination of courtroom drama and field military activities, which gave the show the incredible variety that kept things engaging from week to week. The series was created by Donald P. Bellisario, who came from a military background and created other notable series such as Magnum P.I. and Quantum Leap. The combination of its clear influences gives JAG a unique and exciting perspective that made for riveting television. Despite first premiering on NBC, the show’s production was always connected to Paramount, which provided it with its secret weapon: access to high-quality action footage from films like Top Gun and The Hunt for Red October.

Using footage from more high-budget productions, JAG bridges the gap between the vintage ’80s military spectacle popularized by Top Gun and the more investigative operations that fans of NCIS are familiar with. In addition to connecting the two eras from a visual and action standpoint, the series also takes time to address the changing landscape of military personnel. From the pilot episode alone, JAG doesn’t shy away from addressing issues of sexism that were, and are, a recurring obstacle in the military. While the series has its own missteps and moments that are a product of its time, its forward-thinking helped set the foundation for the more gender-equitable spin-off series that followed.

‘NCIS’ Spun Off From ‘JAG’ in 2003

NCIS had its backdoor pilot in 2003 during a two-part special in episodes “Ice Queen” and “Meltdown” during JAG’s eighth season. These episodes quickly established that NCIS was something special, introducing the world to notable fan favorites such as Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), and Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum). The episodes made sure to illuminate the audience about what NCIS, as an organization, actually is. As members of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the team led by Gibbs investigated the murder of a JAG Navy Lieutenant, with JAG’s Harm looking like the prime suspect.

These episodes gave the NCIS team the full spotlight, following them as the main characters rather than the JAG members audiences spent years bonding with. However, that does not deter them even for a moment, with each character getting moments to demonstrate their personality and memorable traits that helped make NCIS one of the longest-running shows on CBS. Mark Harmon as Gibbs immediately convinced viewers why he’s a leader worth following, with his stoic yet reliable personality that made him easy to look up to. Pauley Perrette as Abby was already endearing, illustrating her unique charm that made her one of the most likable and memorable characters from all JAG-related shows. Needless to say, with its 21st season in the works, NCIS went on to become one of the most successful and beloved television series in the past several decades.

‘JAG’s Harm and Mac Made an Appearance on ‘NCIS: LA’

Almost two decades after the show’s finale, Harm and Mac made guest appearances in Season 11 of NCIS: Los Angeles, the successful spin-off from JAG’s own spin-off. The reunion on NCIS: LA gave fans answers to one of the most memorable moments of the original series: the ambiguous finale. JAG ends with Harm and Mac at a crossroads in their relationship, wanting to get married to each other but faced with different promotion opportunities across the globe. Surrounded by their closest friends, the two flip a coin to decide where they will go, but leave the result a mystery for its viewers.

Without spoiling the series finale to JAG, the reappearance of Harm and Mac in NCIS: LA is a testament to the staying power of Bellisario’s creation, and the continuously innovative decisions that the franchise made. Despite all being connected, JAG and the different NCIS series all feel incredibly distinct from one another, which is perhaps their greatest strength. NCIS: Los Angeles, with its sunny California setting and charming characters, is a vastly different experience from the juxtaposed courtroom and flight deck sequences of JAG. There’s a reason why, even after some of the spin-offs have ended, and the casts have evolved over the years, the NCIS franchise continues to top streaming charts with its newest addition, NCIS: Sydney. The foundation and world-building established by JAG make it the most underrated, yet pivotal, member of the expansive NCIS family.

For avid fans of the NCIS franchise, be sure to watch the show that started it all. JAG is streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Watch on Paramount+

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