It’s official: Leroy Jethro Gibbs is getting his own prequel series and Mark Harmon will be involved…
As confirmed by Variety, dear Leroy Jethro Gibbs from NCIS will soon return to our screens in a prequel series that will feature his youth, NCIS: Origins, and which should see the light of day during the 2024-2025 season. The show will be set in 1991 with Mark Harmon (who played Gibbs for nearly two decades) as narrator.
In the series, the cult character will begin his career as a special agent at the newly created NCIS office at Camp Pendleton. There, he will have to find his place within a motley and courageous team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.
To produce the series, Mark Harmon will be accompanied by his son, Sean Harmon. It was the latter who had the idea for the show and if he already played a younger version of his father’s character in the original series, he will concentrate here on his work as executive producer. All that remains is to find 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 watching my father create the role and having the honor of playing young Gibbs myself“, added Sean Harmon. “I always thought there was a story worth telling about her early years, so I’m excited to take on a producing 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 of this beloved character.”
CBS Sean Harmon in “NCIS”
FANS DON’T KNOW THE FULL STORY OF GIBBS
NCIS: Origins will be the latest expansion of the NCIS franchise. In addition to the main series, which will soon begin its 21st season, CBS currently broadcasts NCIS: Hawaii and NCIS: Sydney. The network also previously produced NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans.
“We are thrilled and honored to continue expanding the NCIS universe in such a unique and unexpected way”, 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 on NCIS: Origins, which will build on that character’s rich legacy while reintroducing the characters fan favorites and meeting new ones.”
“There is no denying the cultural and global phenomenon of the NCIS franchise over the past 20 years”, added David Stapf, president of CBS Studios. “When Sean and Mark approached us all with this exciting expansion of the universe – the exploration of a young Gibbs – we knew it was the next story that needed to be told. We also couldn’t be luckier to have Gina [Lucita Monreal] and David [J. North] at the helm as co-showrunners who are not only brilliant and adept writers, but who know this character and this universe so well.”
Mark Harmon began playing the character of Gibbs in the series JAG before taking the lead in NCIS: Special Investigations when it debuted in 2003. 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 the showrunners of the upcoming series, Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North. “This is truly the making of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. And even the most devoted NCIS fans will find that 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 the 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.