Mark Harmon Guest Starred In The NCIS: Origins Premiere, And I’m Loving The Fan Reactions About His Return As Gibbs

Warning: SPOILERS for the NCIS: Origins two-part premiere “Enter Sandman” are ahead!

When NCIS: Origins was announced back in January, it was mentioned that Mark Harmon, who played Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS for nearly two decades, would narrate and executive produce the series following the younger version of his character, played by Austin Stowell. Then in September, it was revealed that Harmon would appear on camera during Origins’ two-part premiere, which aired Monday on the 2024 TV schedule. Now that the public has seen “Enter Sandman,” I’m getting a kick out of reading the fan reactions about the older Gibbs’ return.

The first half of “Enter Sandman” included brief check-ins with Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs writing in his journal next to a campfire, along with the voiceovers we’ll be hearing plenty of in this prequel. Harmon’s total screen time amounted to only a few minutes, but that was enough to get fans excited. @harveystwoface posted:

When we left off with Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS Season 19’s fourth episode, he’d decided to stay in Alaska after finding a kind of peace he hadn’t felt since his first wife Shannon and daughter Kelly were murdered. NCIS: Origins showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North confirmed to TVLine that Gibbs has “been in Alaska for years, in the middle of absolute nowhere,” and while we don’t learn anything specific about what he’s been doing all this time, just seeing Harmon play the character was enough for many viewers. As @lumanicious wrote:

It sounds like we won’t see Mark Harmon back onscreen on NCIS: Origins again, or at least for the rest of Season 1 (assuming it is eventually renewed). Still, at least the actor was willing to reprise one of his most popular characters as a way to help tie Origins back to the flagship show. @sdav743 shared this after seeing Harmon pop up:

As for why the older Leroy Jethro Gibbs appeared in Origins’ first episode, he’s writing about his early days of working as an NIS agent, as the law enforcement agency was known back then. But there’s more to this than just reminiscing about old times. Gibbs says that he’s chronicling a story he doesn’t like to tell, one that is about his coworker Lala Dominguez, played by Mariel Molino. The campfire scene made for a good bookend to the episode, something @bowlingchefs that pointed out in their post:

We know that Gibbs and Dominguez won’t be romantically involved on NCIS: Origins, but evidently she’ll still become an important figure in our main protagonist’s life, albeit one he doesn’t like to mention to other people. That particular picture will become clearer as the season rolls along, but for now, it’s clear that a lot of people were jazzed to see Mark Harmon back in the NCIS-verse. If Origins Season 2 happens, maybe he can be persuaded to briefly appear onscreen again.

NCIS: Origins airs Mondays at 10 pm ET on CBS, immediately after new episodes of NCIS Season 22. The entirety of the NCIS franchise can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription, and remember that NCIS: Sydney Season 2 and NCIS: Tony & Ziva are both on the way.