NCIS’ Austin Stowell Is Single — But in a ‘Relationship with a TV Show’

Austin Stowell is single — and not ready to mingle — after the debut of his NCIS prequel series, NCIS: Origins.

“I’m in a relationship with a TV show,” Stowell, 39, joked to People on Monday, October 14, while talking about his new series. “I am here Monday through Friday … Remember those 300 people that I was telling you about? They are all my boyfriends and girlfriends.”

While Stowell isn’t focused on finding someone, he noted that “kindness” would be a must-have, adding, “I think the way that someone treats someone on the street, you can really learn a lot about them in those moments.”

Stowell’s personal life has taken a backseat after he was cast as a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS: Origins. The prequel, which debuted on Monday, will follow the life of Gibbs as he starts his career in 1991 as a special agent at the NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he finds his place on a team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.

The role was originated by Mark Harmon, who started to play Gibbs in 2003. After 18 years, Harmon’s final appearance aired in 2021 and he hasn’t returned to the flagship show. He has, however, signed on to be the narrator for the prequel series NCIS: Origins and serves as an executive producer on the project alongside his eldest son, Sean Harmon.

“What has always drawn me here is the character I play and to keep it fresh and to keep it challenging,” Harmon, 73, said about his exit in an August 2022 interview featured in the season 19 DVD release. “Plot-wise, this character has taken the path that it did. I’m not retired. The character is living in Alaska as far as I know.”

Harmon previously said he had no official plans to return to NCIS. “It wasn’t so much a decision to leave, but the right timing to push away a little bit,” he said on a July panel at the Television Critics Association summer press tour about his departure. “I was thrilled with the story line they came up with and how they handled the character. And the show continued on.”

Harmon, who is still an executive producer on NCIS, was asked whether he could see himself returning in an onscreen capacity.

“I have been asked that a lot,” Harmon noted. “[But] I’ve always let the writers do what they want to do.”

NCIS co-showrunner Steven D. Binder, however, hasn’t ruled out bringing Harmon back to the original show, now entering season 21, telling TVLine in April, “Of course the door is always open. But when we bring him back, we’re not going to bring him back for two minutes. It’s got to be something special.”

NCIS: Origins airs on CBS Mondays at 10 p.m. ET.