NCIS season 23 episode 9: Release date & time, where to watch, and what to expect

NCIS season 23 episode 9, titled Heaven and Nature, is the anticipated midseason finale premiering on December 16, 2025. Agents McGee and Torres take the lead on a critical, time-sensitive holiday case. They must quickly recover a stolen truck full of toys for the Navy's Christmas drive. This investigation links the team's holiday service to the community.

Meanwhile, the episode will reveal Agent Parker's mother's identity. This central question has been teased all season and will shape Parker's character. Additionally, Agent Knight receives her first high-risk NCIS: Elite assignment. Searching for a former teammate indicates a new career path. The NCIS team faces a major personal and professional decision in this episode before the Olympics' long hiatus.

NCIS Season 23 Episode 9 releases on December 16, 2025

The new episode, titled Heaven and Nature, will arrive on Tuesday, December 16, 2025. Fans can tune in to watch the premiere at 8:00 pm ET/PT. The team is expected to face professional and personal challenges right up until the break. Here’s a breakdown of timings all around the regions.
 

NCIS Season 23 Episode 9: Where to Watch 

The episode will air live on the CBS Television Network. This is the main network for the show. Viewers who cannot watch live have options for streaming. They can watch the episode on Paramount+. The streaming service has different levels of subscriptions that people can buy to watch content.

Paramount+ has two main subscription levels in the US. This lets people choose between a cheap and a high-quality viewing experience. The Essential plan costs $8.99 a month or $89.99 a year and has ads. It will start on January 15, 2026. Choosing the Essential plan for a year is cheaper than paying every month. The Premium plan costs $13.99 per month or $139.99 per year and starts on January 15, 2026. It lets you use the service without ads, except during live broadcasts.

NCIS Season 23 Episode 9: What to expect

NCIS season 23 episode 9 has a lot of revelations. McGee and Torres will handle the urgent holiday investigation concerning the stolen Christmas drive toys. The agents' professional work is linked to community service in this case. Viewers will also find out how Parker's mother died. This revelation has been a big question for most of the season.

Agent Knight will get her first job with NCIS: Elite in season 23, episode 9. Tracking down an old team member is a higher-risk task. In this episode, Knight's role keeps changing. NCIS season 23, episode 9 puts the whole team at a very important point in their careers. The show's long break starts after NCIS season 23, episode 9. A lot of viewers are hoping for more questions to come up. This will keep fans interested until the second half of NCIS season 23 episode 9's return. 

NCIS Season 23 Episode 8 Recap

On NCIS Season 23, Episode 8, Stolen Moments, the team tested a new piece of technology in this episode. The Department of Justice made an AI chatbot called DAWN. The team was given the job of looking at the AI to see if it could be used to make cases more efficient. Dr. Jimmy Palmer didn't like the new technology right away.

The AI flagged that Dr. Palmer's methodical and ritual-based work habits were not good. The whole field team ran into unexpected problems with logistics when they started using artificial intelligence. The main case was about purposely changing the clock at the U.S. Naval Observatory. This trick was part of a bigger plan.

It was made to slow things down to help a dating app-related conspiracy. The team found a woman named Samantha during the investigation. It turned out that her best friend Rachel was the one who came up with the plan. The episode also looked at how Dr. Palmer felt about Agent Knight.

The AI made Jimmy think about their past relationship and breakup. He decided that their relationship ended for no good reason. Jimmy thought that they still felt the same way about each other. He was about to talk about how he felt, but he saw Agent Knight talking to Agent Torres and stopped. This moment left their relationship status unclear.

NCIS Season 23 Episode 9 will be available to stream on CBS.