Mark Harmon ‘There to Help’ Behind Camera as ‘NCIS’ Prequel Producer

Mark Harmon is taking a step behind the camera for the upcoming NCIS prequel.

“I’m there to help and to talk to them or to tell them what I remember from being in this for a while. But this is their thing,” Harmon, 73, told CBS News in an interview published on Friday, October 11.

Harmon, perhaps best known for playing Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the CBS drama NCIS for nearly two decades, is going behind-the-scenes as an executive producer and narrator for the upcoming spin-off prequel, NCIS: Origins. Austin Stowell is set to star in the new series as a younger version of Gibbs.

“From day one, [Harmon] has been available,” Stowell told CBS. “He’s so good at allowing the people who are on this show to feel like they are supported.”

Set in 1991, NCIS: Origins will follow Stowell’s young Gibbs during his early years as a rookie NCIS agent and delve deeper into his backstory and personal history.

“This is a chance to really kind of dig into it,” Harmon said of Origins, noting that young Gibbs is “in rough shape” when the prequel kicks off, as he will still be grieving the loss of his wife and child.

Stowell told the outlet: “Loss is something we all deal with and for Gibbs, this is something that has cracked him to his core.” The prequel will also feature popular locales from the original NCIS series, which premiered in 2003, including Camp Pendleton and Daley’s Tavern. (Harmon portrayed Gibbs on screen for 18 years before his exit from the original series in 2021.)

Stowell also gushed over the opportunity to work on the Paramount lot. “You come in and audition here for years and years, and all of a sudden, you’re presented with a badge with your name on it,” he said, adding that it could be nerve-wracking at times. “I felt very confident in what I could bring to the character, and then the second you walk in the room, that all goes out the window.”

NCIS: Origins was ordered by CBS in January for the 2024-2025 broadcast season. According to the official synopsis, NCIS: Origins follows Gibbs as he “starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.”

NCIS: Origins premieres on CBS Monday, October 14, at 10 p.m. ET.