2025 has been quite an exciting year to be an NCIS fan. It’s been a year of firsts for the franchise, which is ironic given the franchise has been going strong for over 20 years now.
Of course, one of the biggest moments of the year has been the launch of the franchise’s very first streaming spinoff, NCIS: Tony and Ziva. The series brought about the returns of stars Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo as Anthony 'Tony' DiNozzo and Ziva David, making the pair’s first time sharing the screen since NCIS season 11 way back in 2013. The first season was a smashing success and fans are hoping to see the team back in action for a second season.
In addition to the franchise expanding, CBS made history with its first-ever three-hour NCIS prime-time block. The historic moment came as CBS shuffled its fall schedule around to move all three NCIS shows to Tuesday night, giving fans a night of NCIS shows which includes NCIS, NCIS: Origins, and NCIS: Sydney. This has paved the way for what will be another first for the franchise in the form of a special NCIS and NCIS: Origins crossover, which will mark the first crossover for Origins and the first time we’re going to see a crossover occur between two shows not set in the same timeline occur within the franchise.
Now CBS has made yet another exciting announcement, one that fans have been longing for.
CBS announces Mark Harmon’s return to the NCIS franchise
As CBS prepares for its Veterans Day NCIS and NCIS: Origins crossover event, they’re pulling out the big guns and have arranged for original NCIS star Mark Harmon to make his return to the franchise within the crossover event.
Harmon is set to reprise his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the crossover event, marking his first time appearing on-screen in the franchise since his cameo in the NCIS: Origins series premiere in 2024.
Interestingly, Harmon’s return will not take place in NCIS, but instead will unfold in the opening hour of the crossover event, taking place in NCIS: Origins. While Harmon has narrated every episode of NCIS: Origins and appeared in the pilot, it’s been over four years since Harmon’s last appearance on NCIS following his exit at the top of season 19.
While we know that Harmon will be coming back for the crossover event, it’s unclear whether his paths will cross with any of the NCIS cast members during his guest appearance in NCIS: Origins. Fans are hoping we’ll get to see Gibbs share the screen with some of his former colleagues in the crossover, but it remains to be seen if that will come to fruition. Either way, it’s incredibly exciting to know that Harmon is coming back to the franchise, as it’s always great to see Gibbs back on-screen in the NCIS world.
New details emerge about the NCIS and NCIS: Origins crossover
In addition to confirmation that the crossover event between NCIS and NCIS: Origins will feature a guest appearance from Mark Harmon, we’ll also get to see Roma Maffia back as special agent Vera Strickland. Maffia originated the role in a guest appearance back in NCIS season 11, with Diany Rodriguez portraying a younger version of the character in NCIS: Origins.
CBS has also released the synopsis for the crossover event, shining a light on the case that will bring the past and present-day teams together in an unexpected way.
It all begins in NCIS: Origins, airing at the special time of 8/7c on November 11, “when a naval officer mysteriously dies in the ‘90s, Gibbs (Austin Stowell) and the team travel to the small dust-blown town of Serenity, Calif., where they encounter secret-harboring residents, an uncooperative sheriff and an investigation that will reverberate for decades.”
The crossover action will continue directly after in NCIS – which will slide back an hour for the week, airing at 9/8c after Origins. As teased by the episode synopsis, “A prison break by an inmate who had just three weeks left on a sentence compels the team to reopen the case of a naval officer’s death that was originally investigated by Gibbs and Franks in the ‘90s, and enlist the help of retired special agent Vera Strickland (Roma Maffia). Also, the team has different views on what to include in a special Navy time capsule.”
Given the two shows are set decades apart from one another, it’s going to be interesting to see how the shows pull off the crossover event. After all, it’s not like in past NCIS crossovers, when characters can easily cross over into one another’s shows to work the case. But that’s what makes this crossover so exciting and the creative teams are clearly pulling out all the stops to make it an unforgettable franchise moment!