Mark Harmon Returns To ‘NCIS: Origins’ For Season 3 In First-Look Photos: “Mark Was Excited To Give Fans What They Wanted”
Developing story first seen 6 hours ago
CBS has confirmed that Mark Harmon will reprise his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs for a full season-long arc in "NCIS: Origins" Season 3, marking his most substantial return to the character in almost six years. First-look photos and comments from showrunner David J. North reveal that the storyline will see Gibbs's quiet retirement in Alaska disrupted by unresolved events from his past, giving longtime fans a proper reunion with the character rather than a brief cameo. North said the idea developed after lengthy discussions with Harmon, who remained enthusiastic about returning given his ongoing role as the show's narrator and executive producer.
The season premieres on CBS on Tuesday 6 October at 10pm ET/PT with an episode titled "Don't You Forget About Me", in which present-day threats to Gibbs are revealed to be linked to events from his 1990s Camp Pendleton days. Meanwhile, the show's regular 1990s timeline continues to follow younger Gibbs (Austin Stowell) and Lala (Mariel Molino) navigating their relationship after a season-two kiss, alongside a case involving a kidnapped character named Randy. North also teased a possible crossover with other "NCIS" franchise veterans and declined to rule out killing off Gibbs by season's end, while emphasising heavy 1990s nostalgia, including a recreated Blockbuster Video store, running through the new episodes.
- Mark Harmon returns as Gibbs for full "NCIS: Origins" Season 3 arc
- Season 3 premieres 6 October on CBS at 10pm ET/PT
- Present-day mystery ties back to Gibbs's 1990s Camp Pendleton past
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Mark Harmon played Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the lead character in the long-running CBS drama "NCIS", for two decades before stepping back from regular acting. "NCIS: Origins" is a prequel spin-off that follows a younger Gibbs (played by Austin Stowell) in the 1990s, with Harmon serving mainly as narrator and executive producer rather than appearing on screen.
The show has occasionally brought Harmon back in small ways, but nothing on the scale now planned for Season 3, in which he returns to play an older Gibbs in present-day scenes alongside the usual 1990s storyline. Showrunner David J. North oversees the series and has spoken about how the return came together.
The story matters to "NCIS" fans because Harmon's Gibbs was central to the franchise's success, and any substantial on-screen comeback is a significant moment for a show built around his character's earlier years.
Full account
Mark Harmon is to reprise his signature role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs for a full season-long arc in NCIS: Origins, the CBS prequel series that charts the early career of the character now played by Austin Stowell. Harmon's return begins with the season three premiere, airing on Tuesday 6 October in the US, with new episodes made available on Paramount+ the following day. First-look photographs of Harmon back in character were released ahead of the launch, marking his most substantial appearance in the franchise since he stepped away from the flagship NCIS series in 2022 after more than two decades in the role.
In the premiere instalment, titled 'Don't You Forget About Me', Gibbs is shown in the present day living a quiet retirement in Alaska with a rescue dog, a peace that is disrupted when unresolved matters from his past resurface. Showrunner David J. North has indicated that the present-day storyline will gradually be revealed to connect back to events from Gibbs's 1990s tenure at Camp Pendleton, the period depicted in the show's regular timeline. That 1990s strand continues in parallel, with the younger team working to rescue a kidnapped character named Randy, while the younger Gibbs (Stowell) and colleague Lala (Mariel Molino) navigate the fallout from a kiss shared at the end of season two.
Speaking about how Harmon's comeback was arranged, North said the pair had discussed for some time how meaningful it would be for viewers to see Gibbs again after an absence of roughly six years, and that Harmon — who remains a narrator and executive producer on Origins — needed little persuading once a concept was put to him. North also declined to rule out other established NCIS characters featuring in the mystery driving Harmon's storyline, describing further crossovers as a genuine possibility, while confirming that the evolving relationship between the younger Gibbs and Lala will remain a central focus of the season alongside the show's case-of-the-week format.
NCIS: Origins launched in late 2024 as the latest extension of a franchise whose roots trace back to the character's introduction on the legal drama JAG in the mid-1990s, ahead of the original NCIS series debuting in 2003 and running for more than 500 episodes across 23 seasons. Harmon had largely handed the role of Gibbs to Stowell for the prequel after playing the character for over twenty years, making his season-long return to the part notable both for long-time viewers and for the franchise's ongoing expansion.
Where outlets differ
Deadline's account is the more substantive of the two, built around an exclusive interview with showrunner David J. North that supplies plot specifics, direct quotes on how Harmon's return was arranged, and teases about possible crossovers with other franchise characters.
The second outlet focuses more on placing the news within the broader history of the NCIS franchise (its JAG origins, episode and season counts, and Origins' 2024 debut) and offers comparatively little detail on the season three storyline itself.
The second source's article also contains unrelated promotional/quiz content (about action-hero archetypes such as John Rambo and James Bond) that is not part of the NCIS: Origins story and appears to be an artefact of the page rather than relevant reporting.
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