Lily Mystery, Gibbs & Lala’s Relationship, and More Burning Questions for ‘NCIS’ & ‘Origins’ in 2025

While neither NCIS nor its prequel Origins ended on any major cliffhangers (i.e. a character’s life in danger), the first parts of both certainly set up quite a bit to explore in 2025.
NCIS has an ongoing mystery that was introduced at the end of Season 21 and about which we have more questions than answers at this point: Who is Lily, the young girl that Parker (Gary Cole) is having visions of after seeing her and his mother when he was bleeding out? There’s also the matter of the team’s personal lives: Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) is in a secret relationship.
Meanwhile, NCIS: Origins teed up two cases for the team at the end of its fall finale: What is Operation Sundown and who’s the second sniper? Plus, what will Gibbs (Austin Stowell) and Lala’s (Mariel Molino) dynamic be like now that she knows he killed the man who murdered his family and has decided to stay with the team?
Below, we take a look at those and more burning questions for the NCIS franchise when both shows return in January.
NCIS, Returns, Monday, January 27, 9/8c, CBS
NCIS: Origins, Returns, Monday, January 27, 10/9c, CBS