Mark Harmon‘s beloved character, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, helped turn NCIS into one of the most successful TV shows ever. Sadly, Harmon retired from the character in 2021, leaving fans anxiously waiting for his return.
NCIS has been airing continuously since 2003 and is arguably CBS’s primary breadwinner. Over two decades, the show has received multiple spinoffs and featured many crossover events that helped establish a cohesive and engaging shared universe. As a procedural drama, NCIS constantly introduced new cases for its titular team to tackle. Credit for the show’s longevity also goes to how it allowed its characters to grow and change. Spearheading NCIS’s success was Gibbs, the fearless leader of the investigative unit, whose story ended when he quit the military for good.
Gibbs’ departure from NCIS was shocking, as it was hard to imagine the show would continue without its frontman. However, NCIS kept its high ratings even after Harmon retired Gibbs, proving the series is a collective success. Furthermore, the actor didn’t cut ties with the franchise entirely, still acting as an executive producer in the show. That left the door open for him to come back into the folder of the main series.
So now, as the NCIS universe keeps expanding, CBS will explore Gibbs’ story in unexpected ways.
While Gibbs will continue his Alaska retirement in the main NCIS continuity, the character will return for a new prequel spinoff, NCIS: Origins.
Is Mark Harmon appearing in NCIS: Origins?
Set in the early 1990s, NCIS: Origins will follow Gibbs as he joins the NCIS team as a rookie. Since Gibbs’ story is over in the main series, CBS is looking at the past to reveal new details about the agent who kept the team afloat for many years. Of course, as a prequel, NCIS: Origins has cast a new, younger actor in the Gibbs role, i.e., Austin Stowell (Secret Life of the American Teenager, A Friend of the Family). But don’t fret, Harmon will also make a comeback to the NCIS universe as the prequel series’ narrator.
The series will use Harmon’s voice to bridge the past and the present, with the veteran actor narrating the events of his first days in the field. Meanwhile, Stowell will take up the mantle of Gibbs, bringing a new and younger version of the character to life. Though there are no plans for Harmon to appear in the main NCIS TV show for now, hopefully, the prequel series will remind him of everything he’s done in the central team and push him to make a special appearance in voice and body sooner rather than later.
NCIS: Origins will premiere in the Fall of 2024.