The show was not initially a hit. But if we get some time to grow the audience, NCIS is now at 22^i.e season, after airing more than 450 episodes.

The series follows the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Major Case Response Team (MCRT) as they investigate criminal cases involving military personnel.

In season 19, a beloved character on the team, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon, left the canvas. But now the story of how he evolved is being told.

The new series NCIS: Origins follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs in 1991, years before the events of NCIS. In the series, Gibbs begins his career as a newly created special agent in the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office, where he forges his place as part of a rough, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.

Austin Stowell stars as Gibbs and is joined in the cast by Mariel Molino, Kyle Schmid, Tyla Abercrumbie, Diany Rodriguez and Caleb Foote. David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal serve as EPs and co-showrunners. Mark Harmon narrates the series and serves as executive producer, as does his son Sean Harmon.

North says working on the show is “really a full-circle moment” for him and Monreal.

“We both wrote for the mothership for over ten years. She is one of my best friends and now I am so proud to call her co-creator of this show,” he says.

Monreal added: “Yes, we are so grateful that we were able to write for this iconic character of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and to have had that voice in our heads for so many years. It was very difficult for us to say goodbye to that voice, so to have this opportunity to breathe new life into the character was a real thrill for us.”

Although it shares its DNA with the original series, North says this version is “distinguished” from all other shows in the franchise.

However, he wants to be clear that “what makes NCIS It is still that special, with the characters and the humor.”

Monreal explains this with: “I think we also have a fresh and interesting tone. It’s a sharper tone. It gives a more modern feel, even though we are back in 1991. The look is unlike any other NCIS that you have seen. So, with the heart of what makes NCIS so special at its core that we put it in a different kind of packaging, which is really refreshing.”

The elder Harmon points out, “The idea was Sean’s and it just made sense that there was a new story to tell.”

He says this as he is happy to be a part of it Origin“I’m actually a distant part of it because I’m not there to make big moves or anything, I’m just there to support.”

Because the Mothership set up so many aspects of the characters and their lives, North says this causes the creative team to “hit roadblocks at times.”

“We’ll say, ‘Oh man, we can’t do that because this is established.’ But if you just stay persistent with it, you end up creating something better, and it’s like, ‘wow, now we’re going down this path,’ and it’s worked out so far.

Another aspect the writing team had to deal with is that solving crimes was clearly different thirty years ago.

“We rely more on character changes because we don’t have the same kind of forensics. So really it comes down to character, even in our case of the week,” Monreal explains.

In addition, she says, “We’ll also be able to go home with our investigators and see how their personal lives influence their professional lives, which will be a new element that we’re really pushing into the show because it will create a deeper investment in our characters and in our world.”

In a few flashbacks in the original series, Sean Harmon played young Gibbs, with Austin Stowell now taking on the role.

“It was an absolute honor to essentially play a character that my father created over so many years, and it will always be something that I hold close to my heart. But it was actually something I never really thought I wanted to make a career out of,” he says.

He is happy to be part of the team in the position he is in and says: “I have a lot of stories to tell and I am absolutely excited to step into an executive production role and work with my father in a different way. work. ”

The younger Harmon also says of Stowell, “As far as casting Austin, I mean, to be in that audition room when he walked in there and just to feel his talent and professionalism, I think I speak for the entire team when I say we’re so excited to see what he brings to this role.”

Stowell explains his take on the character and what viewers will see: “This is a Gibbs dealing with the loss of his wife and child. This is not the Gibbs you know, that the world knows now. (He’s not) the team leader who has always done that – who has always been so well put together. This is someone who is broken. This is someone who is searching for his identity, trying to find himself and ground himself back in the world.”

He then tells a short story about an encouraging moment that occurred when he auditioned for the role. “I came into the room for my screen test (and) Mark came up to me and said two words that I will remember forever. He said, ‘Trust yourself.’”

It all comes back to the people, North explains, saying: “What makes in my opinion NCIS so special and what people loved about it is the character(s) delving into the characters, and we do that on steroids in this.

“NCIS: Origins” airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on CBS and is available for streaming on Paramount+