NCIS: Origins has found its female lead as a character we don't know

NCIS: Origins is adding to its cast. Mariel Molino has landed the female lead, as a character we have never met. We have the details.

We don’t know much about Gibbs’s past. That’s something to come up as we get into NCIS: Origins. We’re heading back to the 1990s, as Gibbs first joins NCIS. It turns out he won’t be the only former Marine there, and we’re not talking about Franks.

Mariel Molino is joining the series as the lead female in the series, opposite Austin Stowell. She’ll also play a former Marine, who is on the team.

Who will Mariel Molino play in NCIS: Origins?

Molino will take on the role of Special Agent Lala Dominguez, according to Deadline. She is one of the only women in her line of work, and that means a very specific personality. Plus, as a former Marine, she already knows the world of a male-dominated field.

Lala is described as having a dark sense of humor. Anyone who worked in male-dominated fields in the 1990s and 2000s will understand the need to develop that sort of humor. It’s sure to work well for the field that she’s going in, as well.

The prequel takes place in the aftermath of Shannon and Kelly’s murders. We’ve never heard too much about Gibbs’s time in that aftermath. In fact, for a long time, Ducky had no idea Gibbs had been married and had a family. So, it’s possible that this is how we find out why he decided to keep all of that close to his chest.

Molino has worked on various English and Spanish-language projects. She was most recently in Promised Land on ABC, which was abruptly canceled and moved to Hulu. You can also watch her in The Watchful Eye, which aired on Freeform, and she’ll be in Dead Man’s Switch and The Shade.

NCIS: Origins is coming to CBS in the 2024–2025 TV season.