‘NCIS: Origins’ Season 2: Will Mark Harmon Appear Onscreen Again?
The NCIS: Origins showrunners know what hearing Mark Harmon‘s voice as Gibbs, narrating the prequel, means to fans, and so chances are they’ll continue to hear it through the series’ run. The first season finale aired on Monday, April 28, and the series has already been renewed for another, to air during the 2025-2026 season.
Having Harmon (who also serves as an executive producer) remain narrating for as long as the NCIS prequel is on is “absolutely the plan, and as long as Mark wants to do it,” showrunner David J. North tells TV Insider. “I think he’s having a lot of fun with it. To give you a little behind the scenes, some of the most rewarding moments for me have been seeing Gina [Lucita Monreal] and Mark go off into the sound studio together, and they have a team there, but really Gina and Mark do this VO together and work on it together. For me to just kind of receive it then and go through it, it’s been really awesome.”
He continues, “I know I get feedback that a lot of times it’s Mark’s VO that brings people to tears, and I know just what his Gibbs voice means to the fan base. So yes, we, of course, want Mark to keep doing it.”
Adds Monreal, “We’re really fortunate to have his support through all of this. Getting that time with him when he’s recording is just such a gift. To see him watch the show and do his narration and get his side of it and see how he’s processing these stories, it’s just really helpful in the storytelling. So I’m so grateful for that time with him and that he gives us that time.”
Harmon appeared onscreen in the series premiere, with Gibbs seen in Alaska — that’s where we last saw him on NCIS when he exited in Season 19 — and so there’s always the question of if we’ll see him again on Origins.
“Our focus is on 1992 and telling this prequel story, but we’re always open to any ideas,” says North. “And if that’s where it feels like the narrative wants to take us, Mark’s all in on this show. When we went to him the first time, it wasn’t the plan for him to appear, but Gina and I called him and said, ‘Hey, we think this is the best way to tell the story.’ And he said, ‘Tell me where to go.’ So anything is possible. The fans could tune in any week and see Mark, I’ll say that. But right now we’re focusing on 1992.”
Right now on Origins, the story is moving Gibbs (Austin Stowell) from a more emotional version, fresh off the losses of his wife and daughter, to the more stoic one.
“We’re edging him toward that,” North confirms. “Gina and I wrote obviously Mark Harmon’s Gibbs for years, and that’s the direction that we’re taking Austin’s Gibbs. Even from an investigative standpoint, we learned in this season that young Gibbs really had a gut feeling that maybe there was more to this Sandman story, the Bugs story, but he really didn’t follow up on it too much. He didn’t trust his gut, and in the end, he was right. So these are all learning experiences that are pushing young Gibbs toward the Gibbs that we’ve known for so long.”
What do you think of Mark Harmon’s narration as Gibbs? Would you want to see him onscreen again on Origins? Let us know in the comments section below.
NCIS: Origins, Season 2, TBA, CBS
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services