# NCIS: Origins

NCIS: Origins is an American police procedural series, and the sixth installment in the NCIS franchise. Being a prequel to the original series, starting in 1991, it's about the early career of Leroy Jethro Gibbs during his years as a Probationary NIS Agent while still processing the trauma of the murder of his wife and daughter.
In February 2025, the series was renewed for a second season.

## Synopsis

NCIS: Origins follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and is narrated by the older Gibbs (Mark Harmon). In the series, Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NIS Camp Pendleton office, where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid).

## Cast
### Main

* Austin Stowell as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a newcomer to the Pendleton branch of the Naval Investigative Service, the precursor to NCIS.
** Mark Harmon reprises his role as the older Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a now-retired veteran NCIS agent who narrates the series.
* Kyle Schmid as Special Agent Mike Franks, a seasoned agent and leader of the team. Franks was played by Muse Watson in the original series.
* Mariel Molino as Special Agent Cecilia "Lala" Dominguez, a former Marine determined to stand out in the male-dominated workplace.
* Tyla Abercrumbie as Field Operation Support Officer Mary Jo Hayes, the self-described "Head Secretary in Charge".
* Diany Rodriguez as Special Agent Vera Strickland, a tough, no-nonsense agent. Roma Maffia played the character in the original series.
* Caleb Foote as Special Agent Bernard "Randy" Randolf, the team's golden boy.

### Recurring

* Tonantzin Carmelo as Tish Kwa'la, Mike Franks' ex-girlfriend.
* Patrick Fischler as Special Agent in Charge Cliff Wheeler, head of NIS's Pendleton Office.
* Julian Black Antelope as Chief Medical Examiner Témet Téngalkat, an unfazed, experienced ME, with ties to NIS.
* Michael Harney as Richard Kowalski, Evidence Custodian, who used to be Army chaplain.
* Daniel Bellomy as Herman "Herm" Daniels, a NIS agent acting as the Evidence Custodian's assistant.
* Bobby Moynihan as Woodrow "Woody" Browne, a forensic analyst.
* Ely Henry as Philip Elertson, a chemist who works with Woody.
* Matthew Henerson as Carl Loughlin, an NIS agent.
* Eric Normington as Roger Murphy, a former NIS agent who had a gambling problem.
* Aaron Wilton as Special Agent JJ Henneberry, an NIS agent.
* Marisa Baram as Gail Price, an NIS secretary.
* Robert Taylor as Jackson Gibbs, Jethro's father. The character was played by Ralph Waite in the original series before his death in 2014.
* Jared Bankens as Jamison "Bugs" Boyd, a criminal profiled by Vera.
* Lori Petty as Dr. Lenora Friedman, an assistant medical examiner.

### Guest

* Lucas Dixon as FBI Special Agent Tobias C. Fornell. Joe Spano played the character in original series.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Enter Sandman" | Niels Arden Oplev | Gina Lucita Monreal & David J. North | October 14, 2024 (2024-10-14) | 5.03 |
| 2 | "Enter Sandman" | Niels Arden Oplev | Gina Lucita Monreal & David J. North | October 14, 2024 (2024-10-14) | 5.03 |
| 3 | "Bend, Don't Break" | John Terlesky | Jon Worley | October 21, 2024 (2024-10-21) | 4.06 |
| 4 | "All's Not Lost" | Hanelle M. Culpepper | Michael J. Ballin & Thomas Aguilar | October 28, 2024 (2024-10-28) | 3.77 |
| 5 | "Last Rites" | Lionel Coleman | Margarita Matthews | November 4, 2024 (2024-11-4) | 3.52 |
| 6 | "Incognito" | Pete Chatmon | Shalisha Francis-Feusner | November 11, 2024 (2024-11-11) | 3.90 |
| 7 | "One Flew Over" | Jessica Lowrey | Rafael Samano & Margarita Matthews & Gina Lucita Monreal | November 25, 2024 (2024-11-25) | 3.50 |
| 8 | "Sick as Our Secrets" | Ed Ornelas | Stephen Day & Daniel J. Egbert | December 2, 2024 (2024-12-2) | 3.79 |
| 9 | "Vivo o Muerto" | Loren Yaconelli | Gina Lucita Monreal & Michael J. Ballin & Thomas Aguilar & Rafael Samano | December 9, 2024 (2024-12-9) | 3.40 |
| 10 | "Blue Bayou" | John Terlesky | David J. North & Gina Lucita Monreal & Brendan Fehily | December 16, 2024 (2024-12-16) | 3.48 |
| 11 | "Flight of Icarus" | Ruben Garcia | Jennifer Corbett & Gina Lucita Monreal | January 27, 2025 (2025-1-27) | 4.10 |
| 12 | "Touchstones" | Anya Adams | Gina Lucita Monreal & David J. North & Brendan Fehily | February 3, 2025 (2025-2-3) | 3.91 |
| 13 | "Monsoon" | Hanelle M. Culpepper | Gina Lucita Monreal | February 10, 2025 (2025-2-10) | 3.70 |
| 14 | "To Have and To Hold" | Diana Valentine | Shalisha Francis-Feusner | March 24, 2025 (2025-3-24) | TBD |
| 15 | "From the Ashes" | TBA | TBA | March 31, 2025 (2025-3-31) | TBD |

## Production

NCIS: Origins was announced in January 2024, with franchise mainstays Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North acting as showrunners. The series is executive produced by Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon, who had played a younger Gibbs in flashback sequences on the original show.
Austin Stowell was cast as Gibbs in March. Mariel Molino, Kyle Schmid, Tyla Abercrombie and Diany Rodriguez completed the main cast in March.
Lori Petty and Bobby Moynihan joined the cast in July.
On November 7, 2024, CBS granted the series a full season order with an additional 5 episodes bringing the total episode count to 18 episodes.
The show is filmed on a 1990s era recreated set of Camp Pendleton, built at Fort MacArthur, a former Army installation in San Pedro.

## Release

The series premiered on October 14, 2024, on CBS. The first season will consist of 18 episodes.

## Reception
### Pre-release

The announcement of NCIS: Origins resulted in the cancellation of NCIS: Hawaiʻi, leading to several angered fans boycotting Origins.

### Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 88% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 5.60/10.

### Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of NCIS: Origins :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Enter Sandman, Part 1" | October 14, 2024 | 0.3/3 | 5.03 | 0.2 | 2.24 | 0.5 | 7.27 |
| 2 | "Enter Sandman, Part 2" | October 14, 2024 | 0.3/3 | 5.03 | 0.2 | 2.24 | 0.5 | 7.27 |
| 3 | "Bend, Don't Break" | October 21, 2024 | 0.4/4 | 4.06 | 0.1 | 2.24 | 0.5 | 6.30 |
| 4 | "All's Not Lost" | October 28, 2024 | 0.3/3 | 3.77 | 0.1 | 2.20 | 0.4 | 5.97 |
| 5 | "Last Rites" | November 4, 2024 | 0.3/3 | 3.52 | 0.1 | 2.33 | 0.5 | 5.84 |
| 6 | "Incognito" | November 11, 2024 | 0.3/3 | 3.90 | 0.2 | 2.33 | 0.4 | 6.23 |
| 7 | "One Flew Over" | November 25, 2024 | 0.2/3 | 3.50 | 0.1 | 2.20 | 0.3 | 5.70 |
| 8 | "Sick as Our Secrets" | December 2, 2024 | 0.3/3 | 3.79 | 0.2 | 2.40 | 0.4 | 6.19 |
| 9 | "Vivo o Muerto" | December 9, 2024 | 0.2/2 | 3.40 | 0.2 | 2.28 | 0.4 | 5.68 |
| 10 | "Blue Bayou" | December 16, 2024 | 0.3/3 | 3.48 | 0.2 | 2.17 | 0.4 | 5.65 |
| 11 | "Flight of Icarus" | January 27, 2025 | 0.3/5 | 4.10 | 0.2 | 2.27 | 0.5 | 6.38 |
| 12 | "Touchstones" | February 3, 2025 | 0.3/5 | 3.91 | 0.1 | 2.28 | 0.4 | 6.19 |
| 13 | "Monsoon" | February 10, 2025 | 0.3/5 | 3.70 | 0.1 | 2.13 | 0.4 | 5.83 |