There are already 21 seasons and over 450 episodes of NCIS. The crime series is so long-lasting and persistent that it even Exit of leading actor Mark Harmon Harmon played special agent and team leader Leroy Jethro Gibbs for 19 seasons. Then it was over and the NCIS crew continued investigating without him.
However, Harmon can’t really live without Gibbs. He will return as a voice actor for the prequel series NCIS: Origins. The actor recently reminisced about the early days of NCIS.
NCIS star Mark Harmon actually had no desire for a TV series
The first episode of NCIS premiered in September 2003, but the series was not a sure-fire success. Harmon explained this at the TCA press tour in Pasadena, where journalists and broadcasters come together twice a year to talk about upcoming shows.
CBS
Mark Harmon in NCIS
When asked about the old NCIS days, he admits that he struggled with the decision. After all, he had a young son with Sean Harmon, as he told Deadline:
Back then, I was traveling a lot, making films and was often away. […] We had a young family. Sean was very young, and I just wanted to stay at home more.
Harmon further explains that a TV series did not fit into this plan, but the qualities of NCIS convinced him:
I had never thought about making a TV series, but I read the script and liked it, liked the character, loved the name Leroy Jethro Gibbs.It started with 22-hour days on the NCIS shoot
Harmon agreed. While some stars accept series engagements in order to have regular working hours and locations, NCIS became a burden for Harmon:
I tried to stay home more, obviously. The first day lasted 22 hours. Things didn’t go exactly as I had imagined. We had many days like that in the first four years.
During the press tour, Harmon did not complain, but rather thanked the broadcaster CBS for their trust in the series:
People think this show took off right away. It didn’t. And I’m always grateful to CBS […]. Because I think on other channels we might have been gone.
What is known about Mark Harmon’s NCIS return
Mark Harmon was involved with NCIS for almost 20 years and was rarely seen in other films or series. His last non-Navy TV credit was a 2012 episode of Family Guy. And in it he voices Gibbs. After his exit in 2021, things went quiet around him. That will change in the coming TV season.
CBS
Austin Stowell plays young Gibbs
At the October 14, 2024 NCIS: Origins starts in the USA, while Joyn puts the original series plus three spin-offs online for free. The official synopsis is as follows:
In the series Gibbs begins his career as a newly qualified Special Agent at the nascent NIS office at Camp Pendleton, where he finds his place in a rough, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.
Austin Stowell (Catch-22) plays the young Gibbs in the series. Mark Harmon will act as narrator and is also an executive producer together with his son Sean. At the TCA tour he explained his role as follows:
I’m really just a distant part of it because I’m not there to make big decisions or anything like that. I’m just here to support.
A German release date for NCIS: Origins has not yet been confirmed.