Will Mark Harmon return as Gibbs in NCIS: Origins?

There is no doubt that we’re excited about the latest NCIS spin-off news. Instead of the same show in another city, CBS is going the prequel route. NCIS: Origins will focus on a younger Gibbs, one who has just joined the federal agency.

Does this open the door for Mark Harmon to return as the character who made the series what it is? Well, yes and no.

This is a prequel series, so the Gibbs we’ll see on screen is going to be played by someone else. It’s not even going to be played by Sean Harmon, Mark’s son who has played Young Gibbs in many episodes of the OG series. There is an opening for Mark Harmon to return.

Mark Harmon will narrate NCIS: Origins

When announcing the prequel, Deadline made it very clear that Harmon will be involved. And he’s not just involved behind the camera as an executive producer like he is with other NCIS spin-offs.

He’ll narrate the series. Think of this a lot like Young Sheldon or The Winchesters, where a character from the OG series has narrated the story they are telling. NCIS: Origins is going to be much closer to Young Sheldon than the latter show, as it’s going to be the Gibbs we know telling us the story of when he was younger.

Yes, there are a couple of characters from the flagship series that we’ll get to see—played by other actors, too. We’ll get to see Mike Franks, who led the team that Gibbs joined and gained his own leadership style from. TVLine reports that we’ll also see Special Agent Vera Strickland, who was established as Franks’s one-time partner. It only makes sense that she’ll return in the new series.

NCIS: Origins has been ordered straight-to-series, which means it is coming in the 2024–2025 season.

NCIS will return on Monday, Feb. 12 at 9/8c on CBS. Get ready for NCIS: Origins in the new TV season.