Vanessa Lachey Teases ‘NCIS’ Three-Show Crossover Event

The biggest story in NCIS history is coming soon when all three shows cross over into one big case. NCIS fans are not the only ones excited to see their favorite characters from Washington, Hawaii, and Los Angeles work together for the first time. Vanessa Lachey, who stars as Jane Tennant on NCIS: Hawai’i, could not contain her excitement when filming started this week.

“Today is the first day that all three NCIS shows are meshing in the first episode,” Lachey told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday when the show visited the set. “It’s going be NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i, then NCIS: LA… It’s really great because we were all in one room and everyone’s asking, ‘Does my character know your character? When have you guys met? When did you guys meet?’ So we’re all figuring it out for ourselves.”

Lachey said she is also excited to see how fans come up with their own theories to connect the characters in their backstories. Working alongside her Los Angeles and Washington colleagues has also brought new energy to filming. Everything is usually very serious on the sets, but when you put all the NCIS casts together in one room, it changes the dynamic.

“It’s always funny to me to see how we’re all so serious in procedural television but we’re all just normal moms and dads and people. So I just love being able to like kick it with them and talk about life and just hang out and eat snacks,” Lachey told ET. “I mean, we do work, don’t get me wrong. I act like we’re just sitting around all day but it’s just been really fun to see the other side of everyone else.”

Early last month, CBS confirmed there will be a three-way crossover with NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and NCIS: Hawai’i later this season. The network has not announced when it will air or if it will air all in one night. NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i air back-to-back on Mondays, starting at 9 p.m. ET. NCIS: Los Angeles typically airs on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.

Incredibly, this will be the first genuine crossover involving the Washington and Los Angeles teams. Although some JAG characters have appeared in Los Angeles, no characters from the mothership have appeared in Los Angeles since Michael Weatherly stopped by in a 2015 episode. NCIS: Los Angeles also did crossovers with Hawaii Five-0 and Scorpion.

Meanwhile, NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i have already crossed over twice. The first aired back in March and was part of Hawai’i Season 1. The second came in September and served as the NCIS Season 20 and Hawai’i Season 2 premieres. All three shows, alongside the already-concluded NCIS: New Orleans, are available to stream on Paramount+.