New Delhi, July 2 -- Mark Harmon was the voice of a younger Gibbs, not its face. He had narrated NCIS: Origins since the prequel series premiered in 2024, lending the franchise's weight to a show built around Austin Stowell's portrayal of a thirty-something special agent still finding his footing at Camp Pendleton. Off camera, that was his arrangement. CBS changed it Tuesday.

Origins Season 3, the network confirmed, reprising the aged Leroy Jethro Gibbs in a present-day mystery that runs through the entire season. He continues to narrate and serve as executive producer. The on-screen return makes him the show's second lead alongside Stowell, and the format in which he will appear, a fully serialized season-long arc, is unlike anything th...