Mark Harmon to return as Gibbs in ‘NCIS: Origins’ season 3

Mark Harmon is set to return to the NCIS franchise in the third season of the prequel series ‘NCIS: Origins’. Harmon, who originally portrayed Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the flagship ‘NCIS’ series until 2021, will appear on-camera as the present-day version of the character.

Austin Stowell will continue his role portraying a younger version of Gibbs. Harmon noted that his primary condition for returning to the role was that the storyline had to be an idea he liked. He teased that the upcoming season will explore why Gibbs left his retirement in Alaska, stating, “For Gibbs to leave, something really big must’ve happened.”

The third season is expected to feature 10 episodes and is slated to debut on October 6, 2026. The production team has adopted the mantra “grip it and rip it” to describe their approach to the new season.