‘NCIS: Origins’ Boss & Austin Stowell Preview Young Dwayne Pride Episode

The NCIS prequel is delving into the origins of one of Gibbs’ (Austin Stowell) important relationships in his future, with Shea Buckner coming in as young Dwayne Pride, who will one day lead the New Orleans office in his own spinoff (played by Scott Bakula). Mark Harmon‘s narration on that episode should especially be notable.

When NCIS: Origins introduces Pride in a 2026 episode, the former Sheriff’s Deputy is a newly minted Probationary Special Agent from the NIS Panama office. He and Gibbs share history, and they have to figure out a way to deal with their past tension while undercover on a case. The episode will also include the rest of the Fed Five, made famous by the Privileged Killer case that was the focus of the “Crescent City” episodes of NCIS that served as the New Orleans backdoor pilot: Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid, an Origins regular), Felix Betts (Adam Kulbersh), and Dan McLane (Mark Deklin).

On NCIS: Origins, they are “sticking to canon,” executive producer David J. North confirmed to TV Insider while discussing the fall finale. “This is the timing of when this Fed Five would really start. And so yeah, we wanted to stick to canon and we’re really excited about that episode and that character.”

The episode will set the groundwork for why Gibbs trusts Pride so much, as he said in the aforementioned “Crescent City,” he added. It’s “the beginnings of that relationship, for sure. And let’s just say that their original introduction is not going to be at all what anyone expects.”

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Austin Stowell also told us that the episode is going to be a big one for Gibbs and Pride’s relationship.

“You don’t mess with Gibbs’s family ever, and he’s not quick to forget or forgive. You have to earn Gibbs’ trust and certainly you have to earn his allegiance and if you do something to make him think that you don’t deserve it, it’s going to take a lot to get it back,” he teased. “And so it is a bit of a rollercoaster ride. We go through quite a bit. By the end of that episode, we are seeing the notes of what we know becomes a very powerful friendship and working relationship that they go through a lot together and taking down huge global crime syndicates. So to get from there, we can’t make it easy. We don’t do easy on this show, that’s for sure.”

What are you hoping to see in the upcoming young Dwayne Pride episode? Let us know in the comments section below.

NCIS: Origins, Midseason Return, Tuesday, March 3, 9/8c, CBS