‘NCIS: Origins’: Could Austin Stowell & Mark Harmon’s Versions of Gibbs Share the Screen in Season 3?

NCIS: Origins Season 2 crossed over with the mothership, and during it, Mark Harmon reprised his role onscreen as the present-day Gibbs. And when he did, there was this incredible transition between his and Austin Stowell‘s ’90s version of the character. When TV Insider spoke with showrunner David J. North for our in-depth digital cover, we had to ask if we’ll be seeing more of that or similar traits between the two versions across the timeline with Harmon in every episode of Season 3, premiering on October 6.

“Yes, that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he told us. “And that was a big moment for me as a storyteller and building that transition in that crossover episode, which I know the fans, both Origins fans and the bigger NCIS fans overall, reacted so positively to, which was one of the reasons when I went to Mark and said to him, ‘Look at the reaction of this. Let’s see if we can do that every week.’ And he was down for it.”

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So far, we have yet to see Harmon and Stowell’s versions of the characters share the screen, but it’s not hard to imagine ways in which it could happen. There are dream sequences, hallucinations (who knows what will happen after Harmon’s is shot in the premiere, as seen in our exclusive clip), and other ways for TV shows to allow two characters who should never be able to interact to do so.

“Wouldn’t that be a treat?” Mariel Molino, who plays Lala in the ’90s and has shared in the past that she’d love to share the screen with Harmon (her character’s future is unknown), said when we brought it up during our interview for the digital cover. “I’ve said it since Season 1. I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know how, but I would love to get to act with Mark Harmon. That would be so special.’ So, I’m hoping they figure out a way that would be really special, but of course, our timelines don’t really intersect. We’ll have to wait and see.”

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Added Stowell, “I think in life, we all talk to —” Molino interjected with “the dead.”

Stowell continued, “Younger versions of ourselves. Or maybe that version talks to you in some way, that the echoes of your past show up daily, so who knows?”

Do you want to see Harmon and Stowell’s present-day and ’90s versions of Gibbs share the screen? If so, how? Let us know in the comments section below.

NCIS: Origins, Season 3 Premiere, Tuesday, October 6, 10/9c, CBS