We’re just days away from NCIS: Origins Season 1 wrapping up on the 2025 TV schedule, but not to worry, fans of the prequel, we won’t be done following along with Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the early 1990s. Back in February, Origins was one of nine shows that CBS renewed, and David J. North, who shares showrunner duties with Gina Lucita Monreal, revealed the “real highlight” of learning their series was coming back for Season 2. Not only that, I also learned during our conversation that Origins pulled off an amazing achievement for the entire franchise during its debut season.
Ahead of the NCIS: Origins Season 1 finale’s arrival, I had to pleasure of speaking with North and Monreal about the events of the coming episode (stay tuned for that coverage) and their work as a whole on the fifth NCIS spinoff. Upon asking them when and how they reacted when they learned NCIS: Origins Season 2 was happening, North answered:
We were called by Amy Reisenbach, the president of the network, who was just champion of the show from the beginning and been so supportive of us and what we wanted to do creatively with in it. Meaning, keep the spirit, certainly of NCIS, that Gina and I both worked on and are so proud of, but also in this show do it a little different; diving more deeply into character. She even gave us the blessing, and ‘Blue Bayou,’ Episode 10, to do the first NCIS in 1000 episodes without an actual case, to just tell a character story.
NCIS is a police procedural franchise, meaning the episodes in these shows deliver cases of the week. Most of the time those cases are self-contained, sometimes they’re part of larger storylines. But with “Blue Bayou,” that formula was finally broken. Instead, the Origins episode focused on the aftermath of Austin Stowell’s Gibbs shooting Pedro Hernandez, which included showing how he enjoyed NIS. Sure there was also a tease at the end for the continuing Sandman storyline, which wrapped up earlier this week, but for the most part it was meant to give us further insight into the headspace of the character who was played on the original NCIS by Mark Harmon.
Going back to NCIS: Origins Season 2, it’s good to hear that Amy Reisenbach threw her support behind the series, and it paid off. So it was only fitting that the executive share the news with David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal personally on the phone, and the duo in turn passed that along to their cast and crew in person. As North recalled:
She called us one morning together and gave us the great news. We couldn't have been happier, and what a wonderful experience to then be able to go to the historic Paramount lot where we shoot and walk down, and in between setups, we were able to tell the cast and crew, which was just a real highlight of my life.
I can only imagine what a good feeling that is to share with people that the show they poured so much work into will return for another season. When exactly Origins Season 2 will drop is hard to say, although I suspect it’ll be a fall premiere again, airing right after the flagship series’ 23rd season. The Paramount+-exclusive NCIS: Tony & Ziva is also expected to premiere in the fall, and it’s unclear when we can expect NCIS: Sydney Season 3 to arrive.
Catch the NCIS: Origins Season 1 finale next Monday at 10 pm ET on CBS. The episode, titled “Cecilia,” will introduce the younger version of Lara Macy, the Military Police Investigator who’s looking to uncover the truth behind Pedro Hernandez’s murder.
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