‘NCIS: Origins’ Star Tyla Abercrumbie Teases ‘Beautiful Episode’ Centering on Mary Jo (Exclusive)

NCIS: Origins has been on a long break, but the next episode will center on Field Operation Support Officer Mary Jo Hayes, and Tyla Abercrumbie spoke to PopCulture.com about what will be in store.

In “To Have and to Hold,” premiering on Monday, Mar. 24 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, “The team works the case of an investment advisor found dead shortly after her release from prison. Also, Mary Jo is left reeling by an unexpected development in her personal life”

“It’s a beautiful episode,” Abercrumbie expressed. “I believe it’s really great to be following Franks because that relationship is what we are. We have such a great relationship in the series, and we learned that Mary Jo, even though she can help everyone else and is happy to take care of the people she cares about, sometimes that doesn’t play out so much for herself, taking care of herself. And just when you think, like, Franks in this episode, you think you don’t have anyone to hear your cries. You find out that you have a real good support system, and we get to see that.”

“We get to see Mary Jo need help and get help,” she continued. “And I think that’s nice because people like Mary Jo in the world need to know that sometimes if they just ask or stand still long enough to let their friends know, family know, they’re a little off kilter, they’ll get the help they need. And we get that from Mary Jo at this time. She’s always taking care of everyone. She seems very strong, very capable of handling so many tasks at one time that we get to see that she’s a woman who has issues just like everyone else. She’s not just strong. She’s also very vulnerable.”

The NCIS: Origins cast is filled with actors playing characters that are both new to the NCIS franchise and already established. Abercrumbie’s Mary Jo is completely new and she shared that it’s “been great bringing Mary Jo to life, and I love that there is no other character like her.” She continued, “And I love how the writers are so wonderful in making sure Mary Jo is always there, always around, even when she’s not, and somebody screams out ‘Mary Jo!’ She’s so present. It’s really nice kind of developing this person who you know from life. She’s that person that really keeps things moving in an office that moves so smoothly. And I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that they have written her to be very much a part of each of the characters’ lives. And yet she has her own cases to solve just in that office, making sure things happen.”

“People come through the door, and what she has to do to help Franks or to help Gibbs,” Abercrumbie said. “It’s wonderful. I think it’s great to develop that kind of a character that is not in the procedural part of it. Although I wanted to carry a gun. I don’t get to do that. I just think it’s really nice because she does do her same type of problem solving side of the office. She’s got her grounds to play on.”

It’s hard to predict what will really happen in the new episode, but Tyla Abercrumbie said she’s looking forward to it “because we do get to see Mary Jo outside of the office. We see her at home. We see her with family. And we get to see that she’s not always this strong person that can take care of everybody else. And sometimes, she needs a little care as well. I really appreciate that for this character because I think often women, black women in particular, are written as these super strong characters that their lives can fall apart. They can still just bring home the bacon and all of that.”

“But there is a vulnerability that is there always, and I like that they explore it with this next episode,” she continued. “And so I’m looking forward to that, seeing Mary Jo in her own element and then watching her friends at work be more than just people she takes care of. They can take care of her, too.”

A new episode of NCIS: Origins, “To Have and to Hold,” airs on Monday, Mar. 24 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day on Paramount+.