Mark Harmon on Leaving Gibbs Behind on 'NCIS' and His Return for 'Origins'

Mark Harmon walked away from his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS after 18 seasons in October 2021. Whether or not he will ever return remains to be seen. Even he doesn’t know for sure. He joked with a small group of reporters at the CBS presentation of NCIS: Origins at the Television Critics Association press tour that he recently changed agents, so he doesn’t know if he got a call asking him back.

But on the more serious side, he said, “I have been asked [about returning] a lot, but I’ve always let the writers do what they want to do. I was OK with the storyline. I didn’t know where it was going when they started it but that’s about trust and working with people you’ve worked with a long time.”

Working with people he’s worked with a long time was part of his interest in returning to Gibbs. Harmon is serving as executive producer—and narrator—on the new series, along with his son Sean, and showrunners/executive producers David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal, who Harmon worked with for several years on NCIS.

Related: Who's in the Season 1 Cast of NCIS: Origins

The idea to return to Gibbs’ origin story was the brainchild of Sean, but the idea for narration was North and Monreal’s.

“When they pitched this, that’s a really cool idea but no one defined how,” Harmon admitted. “We are going to figure it out and it sounded like a good idea to me. What they wrote is interesting to me. It’s going to be a different show. Mike Franks [Kyle Schmid] is going to have a lot to do with it and there’s a reason for him."

Related: NCIS: Origins Casts the Role of Young Mike Franks

What that reason is, we'll find out in October when the series premieres.

That said, Harmon is very appreciative of what it meant to star on a series for 18 years and he’s hoping that Origins will find similar success.

“Right now, we’re just hoping to get an order for the back nine so that’s the real perspective of this business,” Harmon adds. “I am only thankful. To be part of this is really fun and to work with these people again is fun. I’m doing a lot of different things. This is one of them and working with Sean is a treat.”

While Harmon says even with his executive producer title, he’s leaving the big moves to North and Monreal, he’s always a presence.

“I love this cast and I love what I’m seeing on dailies and on set,” he shares. “I am pleased to be a part of it. I am a distant part of it really. I am just there to support and how can I help. If you need my help great. If not, that’s OK, too.”

As for what he thinks Leroy Jethro Gibbs is doing these days, he tells Parade, “I don’t think he’s still standing in the stream in Alaska.”

NCIS: Origins will premiere Monday, Oct. 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

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