Prequel TV series are always a tricky thing to get right. Too many may risk altering the established canon, while the newer actor fails to live up to the original star. So far, NCIS: Origins has done a good job with the tale of how a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stonewell) joined the early version of the agency in the 1990s.
The series has remained a winner in the ratings with a third-season renewal. However, per TVLine, there’s going to be a big shift for the season. Rather than simply providing voiceovers, Mark Harmon will be appearing on screen as the older Gibbs. This will mark Harmon’s first full return to the franchise since leaving NCIS in 2023.
It seems the modern-day storyline has Gibbs looking into a case connected to his time in Camp Pendleton. There are questions of how many scenes per episode Harmon will appear and how the storylines coincide. On paper, this sounds like a great thing, as fans have dearly missed Harmon and his presence on the series. Having him return should be a boon for the show. But is this truly needed as a serious storyline push or a desperate attempt to boost the ratings?
Do we need Gibbs back full-time on NCIS: Origins?
The issue with Gibbs returning full-time on the show is that it’s uncertain how he’ll be used. Is he just going to be sitting around his cabin, going over old notes for a couple of minutes, and then the rest of the episode being flashbacks to the past? That seems a waste of his time and talents, just trying to get attention from NCIS fans who aren’t as enthralled with the 1990s setting.
Now, there is potential for the modern-day storyline to have Gibbs reconnect with some of his past teammates. We’d get updates on fan favorites like Vera Strickland (Roma Maffia can easily return), Randy, Témet, and Jo. Maybe even get Scott Bakula back as Dwayne Pride for a full reunion.
This can also be a way to finally answer what happened to Lala. Season 2 ended with her and Gibbs kissing, yet her absence from any accounts of his past suggests something bad happened to her. This is the best opportunity to explain what occurred, whether she died or had a bad breakup, and she’s somehow out of Gibbs’ life, only to be pulled back in.
Still, it’s not hard to see this as a move from the showrunners to get more viewers onto NCIS: Origins. The ratings are good, but not as strong as the mothership, and the closer it gets to the established history of Gibbs, the less freedom the writers have to craft original stories. Adding in a modern story to Origins sort of undermines the point of a prequel show, and Harmon’s presence can dominate too much.
If anything, fans would prefer Gibbs return to the main NCIS show, interact with his old team, and have this investigation take place there. Cramming Harmon into Origins seems a bit lazy and doesn't give the best confidence in Stonewell's strong performance as a younger Gibbs.
Again, it’s great for fans to see Harmon returning to NCIS in some form, and perhaps this works out. Yet this seems more a cynical ratings ploy than honoring the story and character and how the return of Harmon to the franchise may not be as wonderful as fans would have hoped.
NCIS: Origins season 3 premieres this fall on CBS.
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