NCIS: Origins may be returning later than first thought, but there is at least one storyline we’re curious about. Now that Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Diane Sterling tied the knot in a Las Vegas wedding chapel, it’s only fair that we start looking toward what will eventually be their downfall. But how long will they actually be together and does what we know from the original NCIS help?
The issue with the original NCIS is that there are so many seasons that it becomes difficult to keep track of what is known and what is not known. From the beginning, Gibbs has been very tight-lipped about his life, with half of his own team not knowing the details about losing his first wife and daughter for years.
How will NCIS: Origins handle the timeline of Diane and Gibbs's relationship?
Executive Producer Gina Lucita Monreal spoke to TV Insider about what is next for the couple on NCIS: Origins and the logistics of working out their timeline.
"“There’s some disagreement in canon about when they break up, so we’re trying to, I guess, tell this story in the most interesting way for the characters that we’re seeing on screen right now while still adhering to canon.”"
What we do know is that at least by the year 2000, Diane had already had her first child, Emily, with FBI Agent Tobias Fornell. So this means they would have had to have been married before then. Plus, Gibbs would also go on to marry two more times and had a fiancée who died the night before 9/11.
We do know at one point in canon that Gibbs also had a relationship with a co-worker, Jenny Shepherd, who would go on to become the NCIS Director before Leon Vance in the original series. Their relationship seemed to occur at some point in the late ‘90’s, leaving some wiggle room for each of Gibbs’s relationships to be portrayed depending on how long NCIS: Origins is on air. Considering the show was just renewed for season 3, there’s a good chance we will see plenty unfold regarding his love life.
So even though the NCIS timeline is confusing, especially with inconsistencies here and there, it looks like NCIS: Origins can have some fun with Gibbs and Diane before things begin to break down. Plus, if you consider the unresolved feelings on Gibbs’s part when it comes to Cecilia “Lala” Dominguez, there’s plenty of drama that will surely unfold in the rest of NCIS: Origins season 2.
When NCIS: Origins returns from its winter break, it will follow the aftermath of the Vegas wedding and how everyone in Gibbs’s life reacts to the new development. Plus, they will also investigate a movie theater bombing that may be linked to the compound where Mike Franks’s brother, Mason, is now living.
NCIS: Origins season 2 returns on Tuesday, March 3 at 9/8c on CBS, and streams the following day on Paramount+.