How Mark Harmon Returns to ‘NCIS’ Spinoff 'Origins'

For 18 years, Mark Harmon was the dependable and iconic face of the NCIS franchise, particularly its flagship show. He portrayed Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the major crimes unit’s stoic, intimidating and admirable leader who we always knew had a haunted past. That backstory was finally addressed in 2024 with the franchise’s first-ever prequel spin-off, NCIS: Origins. However, Harmon himself exited the show in Season 18, and while, at the time, it was hard to consider an NCIS without Harmon’s…