‘NCIS: Origins’ Showrunners on How Mark Harmon's Narration Takes Us Inside Gibbs’ Head

Some people who have been watching NCIS since its inception feel that they already know the backstory for its lead character Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), so they feel as if there’s no need for the prequel, NCIS: Origins. But the new series, which features Gibbs (Austin Stowell) back in 1991 when he first became a special agent takes a deeper dive into what’s going on in Gibbs’ head.

“We’re definitely showing you all in much more depth,” showrunner David J. North tells Parade. “Gina [co-show runner Gina Lucita Monreal] and I have been working for a year to really fill in the holes, and there’s a lot of them, of Gibbs’ backstory. And that’s been the fun of it, honoring the canon while really highlighting the things we know, and going in more depth while also creating the new stories and the other characters that surrounded him.”

In addition to the change of time period, which is unique to NCIS: Origins, as all the other series in the franchise take place in modern times, the prequel also uses narration by Harmon to take us inside the mind of the character.

“Having written this character for so many years who was a man of few words, it’s just super liberating to be able to get inside his head and to hear the words that were in his head this whole time,” Monreal says. “Then Mark Harmon in and of himself is special. He’s a legend, and the Gibbs character as he portrayed it for so many years is iconic, so to have his voice as the anchor of our show is just so meaningful to us on a personal level and on a story level. I think our fans are really going to find meaning in that as well.”

Austin Stowell
Austin Stowell

On tonight’s episode, a murder near Camp Pendleton leads Gibbs and the NIS team to a suburban mall in San Diego, where Gibbs takes matters into his own hands, and as he does so, we get several more Easter eggs. Episode 1 showed Gibbs taking his first sip of bourbon and went into more detail on his list of rules. Episode 2 demonstrates the first elevator stop and his belief in why its always important to carry a knife.

“I don’t think after 22 seasons we could ever run out [of Easter eggs],” North says. “It’s about picking and choosing. Neither Gina nor I want [the show] to be saturated, we want all of these to feel special. But certainly, in week two, episode three, seeing Gibbs do his first elevator stop and what he learns from that certainly felt right, felt very special.”

Related: NCIS: Origins Releases a First-Look Trailer as Leroy Jethro Gibbs Becomes a Special Agent

And while not an Easter egg but someone from Gibbs’ past like Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), Vera Strickland (Diany Rodriguez) is also a series regular with the possibility of Hetty Lange or Dwayne Pride, who was a member of the Fed 5 along with Gibbs and Franks, popping in at some point.

“We’re just trying to lay it all in in the most accurate and interesting way,” Monreal says. “But any of that is possible.”

Of course, a major storyline point since the series begins following Gibbs only four months after the death of his wife Shannon and daughter Kelly is him taking his revenge on Pedro Hernandez, the drug lord responsible for their deaths – and that is something fans will want to see.

“We will for sure see Gibbs have a reckoning with Pedro Hernandez, and we’ll learn so much more about how that all went down,” Monreal says. “And what we’re most excited about is the aftermath. There’s also so much more to learn about how Leroy Jethro Gibbs actually ended up at NIS. And that’s a story we’re working on now. Can’t wait for everyone to go on that journey with us.”

During our Zoom chat, North and Monreal talked about other ways NCIS: Origins differs from other series in the franchise, Gibbs’ relationships with his father Jackson (Robert Taylor) and Mike Franks, and more.

Kyle Schmid<p>Photo: Erik Voake/CBS</p>
Kyle Schmid

Photo: Erik Voake/CBS

What will set this series apart from the other shows in the NCIS franchise besides the difference in timeframe?

Gina: We’re really interested in delving into who these characters are as human beings, including their strengths and flaws, and going home with them, understanding what it means to be them and what they struggle with. To me, that’s really how we can connect to our audience, just by showing these people as human beings, and so we’re really focused on that in a way that I believe sets our show apart.

It’s only four months after Gibbs’ wife and daughter’s murders, so is the tone different, more somber?

David: It can be, certainly. Our tone is darker, but it’s not only because Gibbs is dealing with that loss, but because we come in and out of having that be the focal point. We try to keep this show a little bit more grounded, and the humor is all there, but it can just be a little bit more of a darker humor than what you’re used to in the other shows.

We’re back in time in 1991, but will we have more flashbacks and will we see more of Gibbs with his wife and daughter? Will we see his time in the Marines?

David: We are delving into all of that. We’re going to see a lot of flashbacks of what’s led Gibbs to his origin story with NIS.

Related: NCIS: Origins Star Austin Stowell Reveals the Personal Tragedy He Used to Get Inside Gibbs’ Head

It’s obviously way too early for Gibbs to even think about having any other romance, so the main relationship seems to be Gibbs and Mike Franks. How will that roll out?

Gina: I think you’re right, in a lot of ways, we’re telling the story of Gibbs and Franks and how they came to be these two very bonded individuals. So, you’ll see that sort of interwoven in the flashbacks, as well, where the past is informing how we understand these characters in the present. But they do have a complicated relationship which we love. There’s ebbs and flows just like any other relationship, and we’re really excited about getting to explore all those.

What made you decide that Austin Stowell was Gibbs? And how many actors did you see to get it right?

Gina: We did an exhaustive search for Gibbs, and Mark himself was part of the casting process, which was very helpful. With Austin, to us there was more than even the look of how Gibbs should look at this time, there was an essence to the character that we were looking for that he’s both broken and strong at the same time. When Austin walked into the room, he had both of those things at once, which is very rare, and we knew pretty quickly once we saw him in the room that it was him.

Austin Stowell, Kyle Schmid<p>Photo: Erik Voake/CBS</p>
Austin Stowell, Kyle Schmid

Photo: Erik Voake/CBS

Mike seems to have seen something in Gibbs which makes him think Gibbs will be a natural investigator, whereas Gibbs’ father, Jackson is, “No, that’s not the right job for you.” Is there something natural about it for Gibbs?

David: I think that in Gibbs’ DNA, as we’ve seen certainly over the years on NCIS, this is a job that he is built for. But at that moment in time when Jackson tells him that, I don’t think his father is wrong. His father just can’t see past the issues his son’s dealing with, the fact that his son is a sniper, all these things. He’s had his son in a certain box, but that’s the fun of what we’re going to do on this show, is really see how Gibbs became Gibbs, and how Gibbs developed into this wonderful agent.

Gina: Yeah, and I think in that moment that you’re talking about when Jackson says, “What are you doing? You’re not built for this.” We talked about that moment a lot when we were writing, and in our minds it’s really Jackson giving voice to the doubts that Gibbs has about himself already, and that’s why it hurts so bad. That whole sequence was really useful for us in getting inside Gibbs’ head.

Related: Mark Harmon on Why Austin Stowell Is the Perfect Young Leroy Jethro Gibbs for NCIS: Origins

You two are the showrunners, but Mark and his son Sean also have EP credits. What is their role? How involved are they?

David: Mark and Sean from the beginning have been fantastic, and Mark as far as helping Austin, always makes himself available. We just had our big cast and crew screening, and Gina and I sat right next to Mark and his son, Sean, and Mark was just elated afterwards. It was really wonderful to see him so happy with what we’re doing.

Gina: I’ve had the pleasure of getting to be in the booth with Mark when he’s recording the voiceover, and just to see him play this character in a completely different way, it’s been really rewarding for me. It’s just fun to see him do that, watch the show and voice Gibbs at the same time.

NCIS: Origins airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streams next day on Paramount+.

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