‘NCIS: Origins’ Co-Showrunner Reveals Whether Fan-Favorite ‘NCIS’ Characters Will Appear in Spinoff

NCIS: Origins will center on Gibbs’ backstory​ and co-showrunner David J. North is revealing whether more fan-favorites could pop up. The series will already be seeing Special Agents Mike Franks and Vera Strickland, as well as Gibbs’ father, Jackson​. Many have been hoping that some other franchise favorites will make appearances, such as NCIS: New Orleans‘ Dwayne Pride or NCIS: Los Angeles‘ Hetty Lange, among others.

While it may still be a bit too early to bring in some other characters, North told TVLine​ that the door is open. “I don’t think we want to say no to anything,” he said. Of course, when and if they’re ever brought on, it would have to make sense to the overall story and to Gibbs’ story. It does help that he was on the job for so long, and it’s already been established that he had known a lot of the characters that fans know and love for a long time. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be any time soon.

That is the fun thing about NCIS: Origins. Not only does it tell Gibbs’ origin story, but it can very well tell the origin story of other agents and characters. There are quite a lot of possibilities, but the series may want to just keep it a bit on the down low when it comes to returning characters, at least for now. It is exciting to think about the possibility of getting acquainted with younger versions of Pride, Hetty, even Ducky, Director Shepard, or anyone else. Who knows what could happen.

Meanwhile, NCIS: Origins will not just be about revisiting fan-favorite characters and meeting new ones. Star Austin Stowell previously shared that the Gibbs in the prequel will be different than what fans are familiar with​. The series will be picking up not long after he loses his wife and daughter in 1991, meaning it’s going to be rough. It’s hard to tell how that will go and what will happen, but it will be something to look forward to.

Fans will soon see what NCIS: Origins is all about and if any other familiar characters will be returning. The two-hour series premiere of Origins​ airs this Monday, Oct. 14 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS following the Season 22 premiere of NCIS.