NCIS: Origins Boss on 2026 Gibbs’ Dangerous New Mission

Note: This story contains spoilers from “NCIS: Origins” Season 3, Episode 1.

“NCIS: Origins” couldn’t take Leroy Jethro Gibbs out of retirement for just any reason in 2026 — so the stakes couldn’t be higher.

The CBS spinoff’s Season 3 premiere, titled “Don’t You Forget About Me,” saw Mark Harmon return to his role as the iconic leader of the flagship NCIS. He was still in his peaceful cabin in the outskirts of Alaska before his dog felt a disturbance. Not too long after, he was shot — and after pretending to have lost his life he heard the one thing that would get him out of seclusion: Someone else in his circle as the next target.

“Him being shot wouldn’t be enough to get him to leave,” showrunner David J. North told TheWrap of the brutal premiere twist. “But hearing that someone else he cares about is in danger is. At the end of the day, he’s a protector”

Details on what exactly brings the killers to Gibbs’ doorsteps, and whether their next target is Lala (Mariel Molino) or someone else from his past, will unfold as the 10-episode third season of “NCIS: Origins” rolls along.

And there’s plenty of drama in the 1990s, too — with Randy (Caleb Foote) barely surviving being kidnapped in last season’s finale and learning that filing classified documents in his computer carried a lot more danger than he anticipated, as well as Lala and Gibbs (Austin Stowell) finally acting out on their feelings, only for Franks (Kyle Schmid) to interrupt them and inspire Lala to get cold feet once again.

Below, North breaks down the Season 3 premiere’s biggest moments, and why he predicts “NCIS” franchise fans will be on the edge of their seats all season long. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

TheWrap: What an exciting start to Season 3, with present-day Gibbs taking center stage. What made this the right time to get him out of Alaska?

David J. North: There have been ongoing discussions with Mark and I, and we were both so happy with how we had left it when I wrote his final episode of the original “NCIS.” But it just felt right. It’d been almost six years, and I saw the reaction when Mark appeared in the crossover episode with the mothership last season, so we started talking.

With Mark, he’s always game. He just wanted to know what story was in my mind and why, because for Gibbs to leave that place of peace that he searched for for so long, it’d have to be a really big deal. Him being shot wouldn’t be enough to get him to leave it. But hearing that someone else he cared about or knew is in danger is. At the end of the day, he’s a protector.

After fooling his attackers, Gibbs jets off to start what he calls the final chapter in the story of her, does that mean Season 3 is the final chapter for “Origins” too?

No. This is the next evolution of it. We’re going to learn a lot more about the story of her, and we are going to learn a lot more about Lala and what’s happened and why we never heard about her. But this is really just the beginning.

That might include finding out if Lala really is still alive and all that’s happened in all these years, and you’ve promised old faces also coming into the picture as Gibbs solves this present-day mission. What can you tease?

I will tell the “NCIS” fans that they are not going to be disappointed this year. Gibbs in 2026 has perhaps the biggest mission of his life, and he is not going to be alone. He has his people that adore him and are loyal to him, and they’re going to be there. He’s been there for them always, and they’re going to be there for him.

Lala and Gibbs had their romantic moment in the Season 2 finale, but their baggage gets in the way again and Lala puts a pause on things seemingly forever. How does this set up their journey for Season 3?

The kiss was a really big deal at the end of Season 2, and now this season, of course, Frank’s interrupted that moment, and Lala is having a bit of cold feet, which is understandable considering that they are teammates, and more importantly, that Gibbs ran off and got married on a whim when they were having these feelings for each other.

But all the fans that love these two, the ship name I think is DominGibbs, are going to be really thrilled with this season. Things will progress, I’ll tell you that.

Randy survives his kidnapping and torture, and seems unaffected by what happened after he is rescued. What’s next for him as this mystery unfolds?

He’ll have some residual effects from what happened, pf course, it was pretty traumatic. But he learned in Season 2 that he has to be all in or not, and that this is what the job is and who he is. It’s not just what he does. It’s it’s who he is. J

Junie and Junior and this job are what matters to him, so he bounces back pretty quickly.

This season is going to be 10 episodes right? Did you have to adjust anything from this epic season to accommodate for the shorter order?

Yes, we jam packed 10 episodes with just unbelievable action and fun and twists and turns and two different storylines. So each week, we’re throwing it all out there. It’s been great.

By the time I really started thinking about this season in depth, I knew it was 10 so I just built it that way from the beginning. It does change things a little bit. Sometimes in broadcast TV, there’s some weeks where the episode isn’t as sharp as you would want it to be, but it’s fun.

But this season for us, there’s no weeks off. I don’t think any “NCIS” fans are going to want to miss any of the episodes.

“NCIS: Origins airs new episodes Tuesdays on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.