All About ‘NCIS: Origins’ Season 3, Including Mark Harmon’s Highly-Anticipated Return to the Franchise

‘NCIS: Origins’ stars Austin Stowell as a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Here’s everything to know about ‘NCIS: Origins’ season 3, including all the details about Mark Harmon’s role reprisal.

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NEED TO KNOW

Season 3 of NCIS: Origins premieres on Oct. 6 on CBS

The show stars Austin Stowell as a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs

Mark Harmon, who played Gibbs in the original NCIS series, will also appear as an older Gibbs

NCIS: Origins fans are about to see a whole lot more of franchise veteran Mark Harmon.

The prequel to the long-running police procedural digs into the early days of Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ career shortly after the tragic death of his wife and daughter in a car crash. Harmon played Gibbs in the original NCIS show, and Whiplash actor Austin Stowell portrays a younger version of him in NCIS: Origins.

Harmon has served as the executive producer and narrator of NCIS: Origins since its premiere in October 2024. This time around, however, he will also reprise his role as an older Gibbs and appear in every single episode of the new season. He previously starred in a crossover season 2 episode.

“I’m here to help this franchise and this show and these individual actors, who are all great,” he told Entertainment Tonight in November 2025 of reprising his role. “So I’m happy to be here.”

Here’s everything to know about NCIS: Origins season 3, including details about the plot, cast and release date.

Warning: NCIS: Origins season 2 spoilers below!

What will NCIS: Origins season 3 be about?

The first two seasons of NCIS: Origins followed Gibbs’ early career in the ‘90s, before the events seen on the original NCIS.

Season 3 will pick up after the dramatic season 2 finale, during which Gibbs and Cecilia “Lala” Dominguez (Mariel Molino) had their first kiss. After revealing their feelings for each other, Lala decides to stay with the team.

“I think we wanted to do something surprising, yet something that felt very earned,” showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal told TVLine of the long-awaited kiss. “With the way that the NCIS franchise usually does it, that would be teased out a lot longer.”

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She continued, “We really felt like character-wise and story-wise, it was the right time, but we also just wanted to surprise people. A lot of people are really pulling for them.”

In addition to his romance with Lala, Gibbs’ early career at the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) will be explored, as will his relationship with his mentor, Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid).

Meanwhile, the entire crew will face the potential closure of their Camp Pendleton office, per Paramount+.

A parallel arc will feature a present-day investigation by the older Gibbs (Harmon), which will help connect the prequel series to the rest of the NCIS franchise.

Who is in the NCIS: Origins season 3 cast?

Stowell portrays the younger Gibbs, while Harmon narrates the series and has appeared as the older Gibbs.

Harmon last starred on the show in season 2, and he will appear consistently in the upcoming installment.

Other returning characters include Lala (Molino), Mike (Schmid), Mary Jo Hayes (Tyla Abercrumbie), Vera Strickland (Diany Rodriguez) and Randy Randolf (Caleb Foote).

When does NCIS: Origins season 3 come out?

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The third season of NCIS: Origins premieres on Oct. 6.

The new installment is expected to be 10 episodes long, per Paramount+.

By contrast, the first two seasons of the show were both comprised of 18 episodes.

Where can I watch NCIS: Origins?

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The third season of NCIS: Origins will air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, directly after NCIS: New York at 9 p.m. ET and NCIS at 8 p.m.

NCIS: Origins’ new episodes will also be available to stream on Paramount+.

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