NCIS: Origins - Confirmation, Cast, Teaser & Everything We Know

Summary Mark Harmon is returning to the NCIS franchise in a new spinoff called NCIS: Origins.

NCIS: Origins is a prequel series set in the 1990s and will follow Leroy Gibbs and his early years at NCIS.

The cast of NCIS: Origins will likely consist of entirely new actors, and Mark Harmon will provide narration while Austin Stowell plays young Gibbs.

Though Mark Harmon departed NCIS during season 19, the seasoned veteran is returning to the franchise as part of a spinoff entitled NCIS: Origins. The franchise began in 2003 as a spinoff of the hit series JAG and follows the special agents of the Naval Crime Investigation Service as they use their crime-fighting know-how to solve cases within the American military system. Despite joining a host of popular procedural crime dramas in the early 2000s, NCIS has stood the test of time to become a TV institution.

Since the show's inception, the story has largely revolved around the character of Leroy Gibbs, the stoic NCIS Supervisory Agent in charge of the crack team. Mark Harmon played the role since the show's backdoor pilot on JAG in 2003, and led NCIS for 19 impressive seasons before Gibbs finally rode off into the sunset in search of new adventures in 2021. Now, even as the original series carries on, and so too do the myriad of spinoffs, a new prequel series has just surfaced which will see Harmon return to the NCIS universe after only a few short years away.

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NCIS: Origins Latest News

The Role Of Young Gibbs Has Been Cast

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A few months after the spinoff was announced, the latest update sees the role of young Gibbs on NCIS: Origins cast. Though Mark Marhom will provide narration for the prequel as the older version of Gibbs, Catch-22 and Fantasy Island alum Austin Stowell will star in NCIS: Origins in the lead role as the junior version of the beloved character. More major casting announcements are expected soon.

NCIS: Origins Is Confirmed

The First NCIS Prequel Is Revealed

In early 2024, even as many networks' fall slates were finally hitting the airwaves after months of delays, CBS announced that a new NCIS spinoff was on the way. No stranger to copious amounts of off-shoots, the newly-minted NCIS: Origins is instead a prequel series that sees Mark Harmon return to the franchise for the first time since his departure in 2021. The Gibbs-centric prequel is still largely shrouded in mystery, and though the basic premise is known, little else has been revealed about the upcoming series.

Harmon and his son Sean will both serve as executive producers on the series and though the younger Harmon portrayed Gibbs in flashbacks, he will not be reprising his role in Origins. Mark Harmon will provide narration, but it is highly unlikely he will physically appear since the show is set in the 1990s. Writers David J. North and Gina Lucity Monreal will pen the premiere episode and serve as co-showrunners.

NCIS: Origins Cast

The New & Returning Faces Of NCIS: Origins

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Little is known about the cast of NCIS: Origins, and since it is a prequel set in the 1990s, it's unlikely that many of the familiar faces of NCIS will appear. The only actor who has been cast in a new role thus far is Austin Stowell, who is stepping in as the younger version of Gibbs. Original Gibbs actor Mark Harmon is part of the cast, and though he won't be physically playing the role of Leroy Gibbs, he will be narrating.

NCIS: Origins will feature a young version of Vera Strickland, though the role originally played by Roma Maffia has not been cast yet. Additionally, Gibb's mentor Mike Franks will also feature prominently in the story of the prequel series, but Muse Watson is doubtful to return to the role.

Austin Stowell is the fourth actor to play Leroy Gibbs in the NCIS universe after Mark Harmon, Sean Harmon, and Micah Tayloe Owens.

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NCIS: Origins Story

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The basic framework of NCIS: Origins has already been revealed, and it will follow Leroy Gibbs in the 1990s as he is freshly assigned to NCIS at Camp Pendleton, where he learns from legendary agent Mike Franks and his partner Vera Strickland. Presumably, it will be a procedural mixed with a character drama, as the show explores Gibbs' rise through the ranks and his skills as an investigator, which eventually earned him the spot as the Supervisory Agent in the future.