Veteran’s Day saw a special NCIS-NCIS: Origins crossover event on the military drama, when a naval officer mysteriously dies in the ‘90s and the NIS team travels to the small town of Serenity, Calif.
The case has a resolution, but not one that sits well with Franks (Kyle Schmid), Gibbs (Austin Stowell), Lala (Mariel Molino) or Vera (Diany Rodriguez), so it isn’t surprising that it gets reopened and the modern-day NCIS team revisits it.
“Timing-wise, it’s difficult to make an episode of TV period, let alone trying to collaborate with an entirely different show as wonderful as the experience was,” co-showrunner David J. North tells Parade of the challenge in making the crossover episodes. “These are never easy to put together. I’ve been a part of a lot of them, including the triple crossover with NCIS, L.A. and Hawaii. They are difficult. We know that they are, but we know that the fans love them, and we hope that they loved this one.”
Mark Harmon returned to his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs to kick off the two-part event, and while it was key in setting it up, it was disappointing that he was only on screen for about 3 minutes. The other tease to his return was that he wouldn’t be alone, setting up hopes that he might have Lala with him. But such was not the case. Rather, the person that Gibbs was talking to turned out to be a rescue dog, who he had yet to name, but it reminded him of Gary Callahan (Mufasa), the NIS dog from Camp Pendleton, setting off his memories, spiraling into the story.
Mark HarmonCourtesy: CBS
“Mark and I both have a deep, deep love for dogs,” North said. “On many episodes, he and I have collaborated using dogs, told stories of dogs, and [co-showrunner] Gina [Lucita Monreal] and I had just talked, and we thought this would be a great time to check in with Gibbs. We came up with this and called Mark, and he agreed. We don’t see it so much as a fake out, but it’s just that it’s an authentic way of… it’s true to Gibbs. It’s who he is. He would take that dog in.”
Since its inception, NCIS: Origins has been telling Gibbs’ story as he journals it. But in this episode, seeing him actually writing made it clear that he was finally telling his story in his own words.
“Gibbs is a man of few words. But no matter, everyone has their thoughts about what’s going on. Not expressing those things, it’s who Gibbs is, but it’s been a great opportunity for Gina and me to get into Gibbs’ mind through his journal and hearing his narration,” North added.
Related:NCIS: Origins: Mark Harmon Reveals Why He’s Returning as Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Exclusive)
A nice throughline for the two episodes is that in Origins, which moved into the 8 p.m. timeslot to air its portion of the story first, we learned the origin of Gibbs’ Rule 11 (“When the job is done, walk away”) as a result of this case. Later, McGee (Sean Murray) while watching a videotape from the ‘90s gets to see it as well. But the surprise is that Rule 11 really originated with Franks, who told Gibbs that the case was closed. Walk away.
Mark Harmon, Sean MurrayPhoto: Bill Inoshita/CBS
“It’s definitely a rule that it’s hard for Gibbs to follow,” Monreal told Parade. “We see that Franks couldn’t even follow his own rule, but as he’s saying in the beginning, if there’s no attempt to walk away when the job is done, there’s no way to live your life. Franks talks about how if Gibbs keeps putting pictures in that notebook, pretty soon he’s not going to be able to lift it. I think the idea of being able to let some of that go is the only way to actually embrace a life outside of the job, and that’s what Franks is trying to tell him. And that’s what both Franks and Gibbs are struggling to do in their lives.”
Related: Fan-Favorite Character Returns to NCIS for Tonight’s Crossover Event (Exclusive)
For the Origins writing staff, it was really emotional to see Mark step into Gibbs’ shoes again.
“We haven’t seen him say lines as Gibbs in so long, and for us as writers, that was just a really special moment,” Monreal said. “We hope that translates to the audience and they feel how special that is as well.”
NCIS: Origins airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Streams next day on Paramount+.
Next,NCIS: Origins Plans Heartwarming Tribute to ‘Ducky’ Mallard (Exclusive)
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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