‘NCIS: Origins’: Mariel Molino Teases Lala’s Backstory in Season 3

Meredith Jacobs October 11, 2026, 4:00 pm

Mariel Molino as Cecilia “Lala” Dominguez — 'NCIS: Origins' Season 3 Episode 2 — Robert Voets/CBS

What To Know

NCIS: Origins kicked off its third season by addressing the Gibbs and Lala kiss.
Mariel Molino reveals what else is coming up for Lala.

NCIS : Origins began by introducing a major question about Lala (Mariel Molino): What is the story of this character? Well, we’re slowly getting answers, and we’re going to learn more about her in Season 3.

She’s “not doing so great,” Molino revealed while talking to TV Insider for our in-depth digital cover previewing the season.

“We finally will get to see a little bit of her backstory, which has always been something I’m really excited about, and I wanted to make sure that we did it in a way that made sense to who she is and why she’s at NCIS and who she was before NCIS,” she previewed. “I’m excited that we’ll get to get a look into that world. I can’t say to what extent, but I can say that we are going to learn more about Lala, and it’s something that neither Randy [Caleb Foote] nor Gibbs [Austin Stowell] know about, and I think it will shift a lot of perspective about her, but also a little more understanding.”

Austin Stowell as Gibbs, Mariel Molino as Lala — 'NCIS: Origins' Season 2 Finale

CBS

This is coming as Gibbs is waiting for Lala. Yes, they kissed, and their hookup was interrupted by work (Kyle Schmid‘s Franks) calling, but she also left him a letter when she thought she was going to be leaving to join Manny in witness protection that detailed how she trusted him with her life but could never give him her heart. “You’re not the next one. You’re the one,” he promised her.

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

The “burn will definitely be less slow,” executive producer David J. North told us. “The burn is going to get quicker. So we’re really not messing around this season. We went into it — Mark calls it the season of ‘grip it and rip it,’ which is an old golfer John Daly saying. But every time I’ve come to a fork in the road, I’m taking the path that you don’t normally see on procedurals. I’m jumping to it and saying, ‘Screw it, let’s do it.’ And so the fans that love that, I know the shipping name is Domingibbs. The Domingibbs fans are not going to be disappointed this year.”

What are you hoping to see with Lala’s backstory? Let us know in the comments section below.

NCIS: Origins, Tuesdays, 10/9c, CBS