We would absolutely love to see Gibbs return to NCIS. While he is, it’s not in the way we wanted.
CBS has announced that there’s a new spin-off on the way. Mark Harmon is involved, but mostly behind the scenes. You see, this NCIS spin-off is an origin story for the original leader of the team. It’s aptly titled NCIS: Origins.
Mark Harmon will voice the older Gibbs, though. Yes, this is a little like Young Sheldon where there will be a narration over the top of the story. After all, we want to hear Gibbs’s story from Gibbs’s own voice, right?
What is NCIS: Origins about?
Just how far back into the characters past will this series go? According to Deadline, the series will pick up in 1991. It’s years before the events of the series we’ve come to know and love, with the lead character now at NCIS Camp Pendleton as a newly minted special agent. He gets to work on the team led by Mike Franks.
Yes, fans will remember Franks well. Muse Watson played the character on the flagship series, recurring in numerous episodes even after the character’s death in Season 8. He would regularly show up as a sounding board for Gibbs after that, making it clear the high opinion Gibbs held of the man. It’s time to see why he held that high opinion.
It doesn’t sound like Sean Harmon, who played the younger Gibbs and is Mark Harmon’s own son, will return to play the role. Casting has started for someone new to play the lead. However, it’s because of Sean that we have a series.
The series has gained a straight-to-series order. That means it’s happening. No pilot necessary. It will be part of the 2024–2025 season, and it means NCIS as a franchise isn’t going anywhere just yet.
NCIS is available to stream on Paramount+.