Brian Bowen Smith/CBS/Joanna DeGeneres/Courtesy/Courtney Harmon
EXCLUSIVE: Gibbs returns to the NCIS universe as the star of a new CBS drama that serves as a prequel to the long-running procedural. The network has ordered “NCIS: Origins,” about young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, straight to series for the 2024-25 broadcast season. The project comes from the two actors who portrayed Gibbs on NCIS, Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon, veteran NCIS writers and producers Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North, and CBS Studios, which is behind the NCIS franchise .
Narrated by Mark Harmon, NCIS: Origins begins in 1991, years before the events of NCIS. In the new series, Gibbs begins his career as a newly minted special agent in the fledgling NCIS office at Camp Pendleton, where he secures his place on a tough, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks. (In the Mothership series, Franks is a recurring character, played by Muse Watson. Franks was fatally stabbed in Season 8, but continued to appear to Gibbs when he needed someone to turn to in difficult cases.)
The idea of exploring Gibbs' early years originated with Sean Harmon, who recurred on NCIS and played the younger version of Mark Harmon's character in seven episodes from 2008 to 2020. Along with his father, who played Gibbs on NCIS for more than 18 seasons, Harmon approached Monreal, North and CBS Studios to expand the NCIS universe with a Gibbs-centric spin-off.
Sean Harmon will focus on executive producer duties on the new series alongside Mark Harmon, who continues to serve as executive producer on the flagship NCIS, and Monreal and North, who co-write the premiere episode and serve as co-showrunners. North will continue his duties as executive producer and co-showrunner (with Steven D. Binder) on The Mothership. The search is on for an actor to play the lead role in the spin-off.
Sean Harmon on “NCIS” CBS
“The character of Gibbs has been an important part of my life for 20 years, both because I watched my father create the role and because I previously had the honor of playing young Gibbs myself,” said Sean Harmon. “I always felt there was a story worth telling about his earlier years, so I'm thrilled to be taking on a producer role alongside Gina, David and my father as we develop this telling the story and revealing a new side to this beloved character.”
Monreal and North, who said they were “thrilled to bring this new chapter to life alongside Mark and Sean Harmon,” announced further revelations in the new series.
“This is truly the work of Leroy Jethro Gibbs,” the duo said. “And even the most dedicated NCIS fans will find that they don’t know the whole story.”
“NCIS: Origins” follows a path that has also proven successful with another flagship CBS series, the comedy “The Big Bang Theory,” which spawned the successful prequel “Young Sheldon,” about the early years of one of the main characters .
“We are thrilled and honored to continue expanding the NCIS universe in such unique and unexpected ways,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “Viewers can look forward to Mark Harmon returning to CBS to tell the complex and mysterious backstory of Leroy Jethro Gibbs' early years on NCIS: Origins, building on the character's rich legacy while reintroducing fan-favorite characters introduces and gets to know new ones.” .”
This is CBS' fourth new scripted series for the 2024-35 season, following the drama “Matlock and Watson” and the comedy “Poppa's House.”
NCIS is one of CBS Studios' most valuable franchises. With 21 seasons, the “Mothership” series remains the most-watched non-sports program on television – currently the third-longest-running US primetime drama series. The venerable procedural, a major global seller that was once considered the most-watched drama in the world, has spawned three spin-offs in the United States: NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, and NCIS: Hawai'i, which is on its way is its fourth season. The franchise recently entered the international stage with its first non-American spin-off, NCIS: Sydney, which also did very well in the US. Used by CBS in its strike-related fall programming, it is the most-watched new series of 2023. 24 seasons to date.
According to Nielsen and internal data, the NCIS franchise had over 300 million viewers worldwide across all platforms, including broadcast, cable, streaming and syndication, during the 2022-2023 television season.
“There is no denying the cultural and global phenomenon of the NCIS franchise over the last 20 years,” said David Stapf, president of CBS Studios. “When Sean and Mark approached us with this exciting expansion of the universe – exploring a young Gibbs – we knew this was the next story that needed to be told. We also couldn’t be happier to have Gina and David at the helm as co-showrunners, who are not only brilliant and accomplished writers, but know this character and this universe so well.”
NCIS: Origins reunites North and Monreal, who have both written for NCIS for ten years. Monreal, who left the CBS series a few years ago, has recently worked on Netflix's Griselda, Star Wars: The Bad Batch and the upcoming Dan Fogleman/Sterling K. Brown project for Hulu.
The spin-off will be cast by NCIS casting directors Jason Kennedy, Krysti Baxter and Meredith Goble.
Mark Harmon is represented by Gersh and attorney Barry Axelrod. Sean Harmon is repped by 3Arts Entertainment, Gersh and Genow Goodman. Monreal is represented by CAA, Mosaic and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson McGinnis Ryan. North is represented by Dan Halsted Management.