‘NCIS: Origins’ sets major fan-favorite reunion for first time in 10 years
Retirement is proving to be unfinished business for Leroy Jethro Gibbs. ‘NCIS: Origins’ has brought his past into the present, with Mark Harmon back on screen throughout Season 3. The prequel usually follows his early career at Camp Pendleton. Now, its present-day mystery is taking him back to a workplace he knows well.
Harmon and Michael Weatherly will reunite as Gibbs and Tony DiNozzo in the October 20 episode, their first time sharing the screen in 10 years. Their last on-screen appearance together came in the ‘NCIS’ Season 13 finale, when Weatherly left the series. CBS has also released a first-look photo showing the pair in the NCIS morgue. This time, however, Tony has a different job: he is the agency’s director.
CBS describes the setup as, “The highly anticipated reunion finds Leroy Jethro Gibbs returning to NCIS’s D.C. headquarters to enlist the help of new director Tony DiNozzo after Gibbs was shot by unknown assailants.” The attack took place in the ‘Origins’ Season 3 premiere on October 6. Gibbs survived by using a Marine breathing technique that convinced his attacker he was dead. The shooter’s words, “One down, one to go,” left another question hanging over the investigation.
Before seeking Tony’s help, Gibbs turns to Woody, played by Bobby Moynihan, in the present-day scenes of Episode 2. He needs a fingerprint taken from his own neck checked. Showrunner David J. North told TV Insider that this step would “directly lead” to the reunion. The identity of the other intended target remains unresolved.
For North, returning to the familiar set with Harmon carried weight beyond the storyline. He also said, “It was like coming home. Mark is amazing in those scenes. The fans are going to lose their minds.” Harmon will appear in all 10 episodes this season, alongside his narration. His present-day investigation connects to events from Gibbs’ Camp Pendleton years in the ’90s.
Those earlier years remain the prequel’s foundation, with Austin Stowell playing the younger Gibbs. Weatherly, meanwhile, returned to the flagship ‘NCIS’ in its Season 24 premiere on October 6. That return established Tony’s new position before his former boss comes asking for help. The October 20 episode brings their stories together as Gibbs searches for answers about the attack. The reunion episode airs Tuesday, October 20, at 10 p.m. ET/PT, or 9 p.m. CT, on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
