NCIS’ Legend Mark Harmon Says ‘Origins’ Return Brought Him Back to Franchise’s ‘Tough’ Early Days
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.”
