Mark Harmon will reprise his “NCIS” role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs this week, a return that the TV legend said brought him back to the “tough” early days of the CBS franchise.
Tuesday’s crossover event follows a complicated murder case in the 1990s-era spinoff “NCIS: Origins” that lingers on the team members’ minds long after they make an arrest. A twist in the case in 2025 then leads to its reopening on the flagship series, now headlined by Gary Cole and Wilmer Valderrama since Harmon exited in 2021. Though the present-day Gibbs left the team to retire in Alaska, “NCIS: Origins” introduced viewers to the younger version of the iconic TV character as he first joined the NIS — with Austin Stowell picking up the baton to play Gibbs in the new show.
Harmon will return during the “Origins” hour in the crossover, providing an update on how the beloved detective has been doing in seclusion.
“People talk about him being in solitude a lot, and I think that’s a very comfortable place for him. He might have had more of a challenge with the public part of [his work,]” Harmon told TheWrap. “It’s interesting to be able to reveal a glimpse of how he is living. It’s a very short little bit, but the audience will get a chance to know things about him that they don’t know already.”
The actor credited “NCIS: Origins” creators Gina Lucita Monreal and David North for coming up with a clever way to check back in with Gibbs that “made me smile.”
The duo previously teased the guest star appearance will unveil that the character is no longer alone in his cabin — though exactly what that means remains to be seen. Fans have speculated a present-day Lala, played in “Origins” by Mariel Molino, might make a surprise debut.
“They’re growing the character, which 20 years ago, is what interested me in doing this in the first place,” Harmon said. “I wasn’t specifically looking to do a TV series at all. I didn’t expect to like the character like I did, but that’s good writing.”
But as David and Gina previously teased, Gibbs only shows up in the “Origins” hour of Tuesday’s crossover. Meaning the case won’t bring him back to NCIS headquarters this time around.
Harmon said he didn’t know if there was ever a version of the crossover script involving Gibbs’ return to “NCIS” and added, “Here’s the bottom line, people have to ask. Let’s start there.”
Of course, Harmon has never been too far away since leaving his series regular commitments on “NCIS.” He is an executive producer on “NCIS: Origins” alongside his son Sean — who previously played young Gibbs on the flagship series. He also provides a voiceover for the opening and closing moments of each episode of the prequel series.
Stowell has also previously shared Harmon’s advice about playing younger Gibbs, encouraging him to make the stern but loveable investigator his own. Together with the rest of the cast — including Molino, Kyle Schmid, Tyla Abercrombie, Diany Rodriguez and Caleb Foote — Stowell has excelled as “Origins” makes a character study out of Gibbs, Mike Franks, Lala and other iconic characters from the franchise lore.
“I have been involved since the beginning, in the room when these actors first came in to read for the roles … and then be chosen to play these roles,” Harmon said. “They all are talented individual actors who’ve worked their tails off, which is exactly what we were doing 20 years ago.”
“People don’t remember this, but ‘NCIS’ wasn’t a jump-off hit. We struggled, and sometimes the struggle is the most important part of doing anything. This is a tough process. It doesn’t come off easy and it takes time. But I know that, creatively, this show is in really good shape. I’m glad to be a part of it.”
The “NCIS” crossover event kicks off Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.
