NCIS Prequel Series Focusing On Fan-Favorite Character
When the insanely successful CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory was coming to an end, the network decided to keep the franchise going by launching the prequel series Young Sheldon. That spinoff has proven to be a major success, and now it looks like CBS will try to reenergize its aging police procedural NCIS by creating a prequel called NCIS: Origins focusing on a young Jethro Gibbs. We will follow the adventures of Gibbs when he first became a special agent for the NCIS in 1991, and the show will be narrated by original Gibbs actor Mark Harmon.
This NCIS prequel will have a completely new setting, taking place in Camp Pendleton. Instead of being the confident team lead that we are familiar with, this series will show Gibbs as a wet behind-the-ears rookie who must prove himself to a brand-new team. Longtime franchise fans will be happy that the new team has at least one familiar face: it will be led by Mike Franks, who was first played by Muse Watson on the original NCIS.
Of course, some of those longtime fans may be a bit surprised to see the return of both the Gibbs character and Mark Harmon himself to NCIS because the actor left the show after season 19. However, Harmon remains an executive producer on the series which made him a household name, and he’s still very interested in the future of the franchise. Interestingly, this prequel series would likely never have gotten the green light if Harmon’s family hadn’t pitched it to CBS.
Mark Harmon’s son Sean Harmon is actually the one who pitched the idea of an NCIS prequel focusing on young Gibbs to the network. As longtime fans know, Sean Harmon has played a younger version of his father on NCIS, but he won’t be playing Gibbs in this prequel. Instead, he’ll be serving as the show’s executive producer, and CBS will begin trying to cast the show in the very near future.
We may not know anything about the cast (aside from the fact that Mark Harmon will be narrating the show), but we’re confident that the NCIS prequel will have the tone and flavor of the original show. That’s because David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal have written the pilot: both of them have written NCIS episodes for over a decade, and North currently serves as co-showrunner for the long-running police procedural. These two will now be co-showrunners of NCIS: Origins, so it stands to reason that fans who love to binge the original NCIS will enjoy this ambitious prequel.
While cynics may be annoyed that we’re getting yet another NCIS spinoff, the simple truth is that CBS has had plenty of success in this matter: not only has NCIS had five previous spinoffs, but the original NCIS was itself a spinoff of JAG. NCIS helped the network perfect the spinoff formula, and the success of Young Sheldon proves that audiences will tune in for prequels focusing on younger versions of popular characters.
Chances are NCIS: Origins will be another smash hit for the network, but if not, we’re just going to hope CBS decides to goose ratings by giving us an onscreen showdown between Young Gibbs and Young Sheldon. If Sheldon ends up smashing Gibbs’ head into a toilet like in Batman v. Superman, we might just start saying “bazinga” unironically around the office.
Source: Variety
