It's official: Leroy Jethro Gibbs gets the rights to his own prequel series and Mark Harmon will be involved…
As confirmed by Variety, NCIS's dear Leroy Jethro Gibbs will soon return to our screens in a prequel series focused on his youth, NCIS: Origins, set to debut in the 2024-2025 season . The show is set in 1991 with Mark Harmon (who played Gibbs for nearly two decades) as the narrator.
In the series, the iconic character begins his career as a special agent in the newly created NCIS office at Camp Pendleton. There he has to find his place in a diverse and courageous team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.
Mark Harmon is accompanied in the production of the series by his son Sean Harmon. The latter came up with the idea for the show and already played a younger version of his father's character in the original series, so he will concentrate on his work as an executive producer here. All that remains is to find out who will play young Gibbs in this new spin-off.
“The character of Gibbs has played an important role in my life for 20 years, both because I watched my father create the role and because I had the honor of playing young Gibbs myself,” added Sean Harmon added. “I always thought there was a story worth telling about her early years, so I'm excited to be taking on a producer role alongside Gina [Lucita Monreal]David [J. North] – [les showrunners de la série] – and my father as we tell this story and reveal a new side to this beloved character.”
CBS Sean Harmon on “NCIS”
Fans don't know the full story of Gibbs
NCIS: Origins will be the latest addition to the NCIS series. In addition to the main series, which is about to start its 21st season, CBS is currently broadcasting NCIS: Hawaii and NCIS: Sydney. The network also previously produced NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans.
“We are thrilled and honored to continue to expand the NCIS universe in such unique and unexpected ways,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “Viewers can expect Mark Harmon to return to CBS to tell the complex and mysterious story of Leroy Jethro Gibbs' early years in NCIS: Origins, building on the character's rich legacy while reintroducing fan-favorite characters and met new ones.”
“There is no denying the cultural and global phenomenon of the NCIS franchise over the last 20 years,” added David Stapf, president of CBS Studios. “When Sean and Mark approached us with this exciting expansion of the universe – exploring young Gibbs – we knew it was the next story to be told. We couldn't be happier to have Gina either [Lucita Monreal] and David [J. North] at the helm as co-showrunners who are not only brilliant and accomplished writers, but know this character and this universe so well.”
Mark Harmon first played the character Gibbs on the series JAG before taking over the lead role in the 2003 premiere of NCIS. In 2021, the actor left the series to become one of its executive producers.
“We are excited to bring this new chapter to life with Mark and Sean Harmon,” said upcoming series showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North. “It is truly the creation of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. And even the most die-hard NCIS fans will realize they don’t know the whole story.”
NCIS: Origins is the latest series ordered by CBS following the medical drama Watson, starring Morris Chestnut as Dr. John Watson, Sherlock Holmes' companion. CBS is also preparing to launch new series Tracker with Justin Hartley (This Is Us) and Elsbeth with Carrie Preston (The Good Wife) next February.
NCIS: Special Investigations is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.