Mark Harmon Returning To NCIS Universe With Gibbs Prequel Show
Mark Harmon is officially returning to the NCIS universe with a new prequel show exploring Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ origins within the titular agency.
As the mainline show forges ahead without the longtime star, Mark Harmon is officially returned to the NCIS universe. Harmon led the cast of the CBS police procedural as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, leader of the team of Investigators for the titular naval agency. Having carried on the role from its original show, JAG, Harmon ultimately withdrew NCIS in season 19, with Gary Cole’s Alden Parker filling in his role.
ust over two years after his emotional exit, Deadline has brought word that Harmon is now set to return to the NCIS universe with a new spinoff show. Subtitled Origins, the title will act as a prequel exploring Gibbs’ early days with the agency in the ’90s, having been appointed a special agent at NCIS Camp Pendleton alongside agency legend Mike Franks. Harmon will narrate the show and executive produce with his son Sean Harmon, who plays a younger version of Gibbs in flashbacks, though will not be reprising the role. Veteran show writers David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal are co-writing the premiere and co-showrun the project, with the former also continuing as co-showrunner on the main NCIS with Steven D. Binder.
NCIS: Origins Will Fill A Major CBS Void
Harmon’s return to NCIS has been something longtime fans of the show have held out hope for since his initial exit, with the star himself even expressing being open to the possibility so the story makes sense. Although much of the mainline show has already explored his past, a prequel set in his first days with the agency does open the door to further fleshing out the character and set him up to become the Gibbs audiences know. Furthermore, Harmon being back in any capacity creates the possibility for Harmon to make guest or recurring appearances in NCIS or its various spinoffs.
While Harmon’s return already proves promising for NCIS: Origins, the prequel setting of the show could prove to be a big hit given CBS’ prior success with such a format in Young Sheldon. Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro’s comedy served as a prequel to The Big Bang Theory, exploring the formative years of Jim Parsons’ titular character, with the star not only serving as a narrator, but an executive producer as well. With Parsons’ exit having been one of the factors behind Big Bang Theory’s initial conclusion, Harmon’s remarkably notable departure and subsequent return could be the elements needed for Origins to be a hit.
The other major factor for this chance at success is that NCIS: Origins is coming in the wake of Young Sheldon’s impending series finale. With audiences generally looking for meaningful expansions of their favorite shows, namely ones with the same creative minds behind them, it seems likely that those who have tuned in to watch Sheldon’s younger years and have also kept NCIS as one of the best-performing shows on primetime TV would want to dive in to learn more of Gibbs’ past with Harmon in tow.
