{"id":8589,"date":"2026-10-10T18:40:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T18:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/?p=8589"},"modified":"2026-10-10T18:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T18:40:18","slug":"mark-harmon-mulled-killing-gibbs-on-ncis-now-at-75-hes-back-in-origins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/?p=8589","title":{"rendered":"Mark Harmon mulled killing Gibbs on \u2018NCIS.\u2019 Now, at 75, he\u2019s back in \u2018Origins\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">It\u2019s Gibbs o\u2019clock in the\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/tv-streaming\/2026\/10\/05\/ncis-new-episodes-season-24\/92104165007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">\u201cNCIS\u201d universe<\/a>. Thank the TV gods.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">As\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/tv\/2026\/09\/08\/mark-harmon-ncis-origins-season-3-austin-stowell\/91562422007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">Mark Harmon<\/a>\u00a0returns as\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/tv\/2026\/09\/08\/mark-harmon-ncis-origins-season-3-austin-stowell\/91562422007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">Leroy Jethro Gibbs on \u201cNCIS: Origins\u201d<\/a>\u00a0on Oct. 6 (CBS 10 p.m. ET\/PT), nearly five years after dramatically leaving \u201cNCIS,\u201d it\u2019s worth remembering: Harmon once floated the idea of killing off his beloved character.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In an exclusive\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/tv\/2026\/09\/08\/mark-harmon-ncis-origins-season-3-austin-stowell\/91562422007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">September interview, Harmon, 75, told USA TODAY<\/a>\u00a0that during the extended period when the star actor was looking to move on from the character he had played for nearly two decades, he suggested finishing Gibbs off for good. It would have made for an epic, tragic, final \u201cNCIS\u201d episode.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThey approached all kinds of questions: Do we kill him? Do we not kill him?\u201d Harmon says of his \u201cNCIS\u201d bosses, adding that he relished at least the discussion of killing Gibbs. \u201cI was fine with it. It\u2019s the life of an actor.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp\">Mark Harmon returns to \u2018NCIS\u2019verse\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/tv\/2026\/09\/08\/mark-harmon-ncis-origins-season-3-austin-stowell\/91562422007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|spike click:5|\u2691u\">Vows to \u2018grip it and rip it\u2019 in \u2018NCIS: Origins\u2019 return | Exclusive interview<\/a><\/aside>\n<aside class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp\">Love crosswords?\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\" href=\"https:\/\/play.usatoday.com\/midgrid\/?itm_source=SPIKE&amp;itm_campaign=PLAYSPIKE&amp;itm_medium=ONSITE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":body nav (midgrid)|e|auto spike click:5|\u2691u\">Explore the Crossword page and play the new MidGrid Crossword.<\/a><\/aside>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/09\/04\/USAT\/91601754007-3242293-ncor-s-3-0589-b-2.jpg?width=660&amp;height=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/09\/04\/USAT\/91601754007-3242293-ncor-s-3-0589-b-2.jpg?width=1320&amp;height=880&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"Gibbs (Mark Harmon) will leave Alaska with his new dog companion in &quot;NCIS: Origins.&quot;\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cBut it was met with a universal thumbs-down by many people,\u201d Harmon adds. \u201cThat was a quick discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cOrigins\u201d executive producer David J. North, who was the showrunner for \u201cNCIS\u201d at the time, says the idea of killing Gibbs was Harmon\u2019s, and that it was shot down relatively quickly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThat was [Harmon], I\u2019ll give you that exclusive,\u201d North says, confirming the discussion. \u201cHe had talked about it at different times, different ways. Mark is a creative and wanted to go through every possibility. I certainly heard him out on that. But I will say that there was never a point in the process that had Gibbs being killed off.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img gnt_em_img__inset\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/09\/02\/USAT\/91587052007-3244749-ncor-s-3-0803-b.jpg?width=300&amp;height=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/09\/02\/USAT\/91587052007-3244749-ncor-s-3-0803-b.jpg?width=600&amp;height=900&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"Two generations of Gibbs: Mark Harmon and Austin Stowell are ready for work on the set of &quot;NCIS: Origins.&quot;\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Harmon agreed to the ending where Gibbs\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/tv\/2021\/10\/12\/mark-harmon-ncis-leroy-jethro-gibbs-leaves-squad-now\/6101079001\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">goes on a work trip to Alaska, and stays behind to retire.<\/a> It\u2019s a beloved \u201cNCIS\u201d episode. And sure enough, keeping Gibbs alive paved the way for the older character to return in \u201cNCIS: Origins,\u201d the 2024 prequel, the brainchild of Harmon\u2019s son, Sean Harmon, an executive producer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">With\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/tv\/2024\/03\/04\/actor-playing-gibbs-ncis-origins-austin-stowell\/72844860007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">Austin Stowell<\/a>\u00a0playing the younger Gibbs at Camp Pendleton in the early 1990s, Harmon\u2019s present-day Gibbs has served as the show\u2019s rueful narrator, looking back from the Alaskan wilderness and passing on his untold story of Special Agent Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino), his colleague and complicated love interest whose fate has loomed over \u201cOrigins\u201d from the beginning.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/10\/02\/USAT\/92059099007-3242293-ncor-s-3-0052-b.jpg?width=660&amp;height=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/10\/02\/USAT\/92059099007-3242293-ncor-s-3-0052-b.jpg?width=1320&amp;height=880&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"From left to right, Kyle Schmid as Mike Franks, Austin Stowell as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Mariel Molino as Cecilia \u201cLala\u201d Dominguez, Tyla Abercrombie as Mary Jo Sullivan in &quot;NCIS: Origins&quot; Season 3.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_h2\">Gibbs gets shot in \u2018Origins\u2019 Episode 1!<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In the upcoming Season 3, Harmon\u2019s role will become even more prominent as Gibbs is called into a case he was involved in 34 years ago. Shockingly, older Gibbs gets shot in the bang-bang Episode 1 opening. Is it fatal? Not likely. But the stakes are so high in \u201cOrigins\u201d Season 3, there\u2019s no telling who might die in the drama.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThis was an enormous decision,\u201d North says of the return. \u201cIt opens up the whole thing. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">As Gibbs hilariously quotes \u201cThe Godfather\u201d in the \u201cOrigins\u201d trailer: \u201cJust when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_h2\">How to watch \u2018NCIS: Origins\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cNCIS: Origins\u201d Season 3 airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET\/PT on CBS, with new episodes arriving weekly. Harmon\u2019s Gibbs will appear in all 10 episodes of Season 3. Paramount+ Premium subscribers can stream episodes live as they air on CBS. Paramount+ subscribers can watch them on demand the next day where Seasons 1 and 2 are available<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s Gibbs o\u2019clock in the\u00a0\u201cNCIS\u201d universe. Thank the TV gods. &nbsp; As\u00a0Mark Harmon\u00a0returns as\u00a0Leroy Jethro Gibbs on \u201cNCIS: Origins\u201d\u00a0on Oct. 6 (CBS 10 p.m. ET\/PT), nearly five years after dramatically leaving \u201cNCIS,\u201d it\u2019s worth&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8589"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8591,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8589\/revisions\/8591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}