‘NCIS: Origins’ Suffers Big Loss

NCIS: Origins is suffering a major loss after scoring an early Season 3 renewal last week.

CBS’ NCIS prequel will return for another season without one of its showrunners, as Gina Lucita Monreal announced Wednesday that she will be leaving at the end of the current second season to focus on other projects.

Monreal’s fellow showrunner, David J. North, will stay on as the only showrunner for Season 3, as per Deadline.

Monreal has walked away from the NCIS franchise in the past, as she worked as a writer and producer on the flagship series for a decade before making her first exit in 2021 to work as a writer and co-executive producer on Hulu’s Paradise and Netflix’s Griselda. She then returned to CBS to work on NCIS: Origins, which debuted in 2024.

“It’s been the biggest honor of my career to write NCIS: Origins alongside my incredible co-showrunner and friend David North,” Monreal said in a statement. “I want to thank Amy Reisenbach, David Stapf, and everyone at CBS Network and Studio for their support. To have had this opportunity to work again with the incomparable Mark Harmon, Sean Harmon, our writers, and the best cast and crew in the business — how lucky am I? I can’t wait to see what this extraordinary group cooks up for Season 3.”

“Long before Gina was my incredible writing partner on NCIS: Origins, she was, and remains, one of my closest friends,” North added in a statement of his own. “I couldn’t have imagined launching this show with anyone else, and even though Gina won’t be working with us on a daily basis next season, the characters and stories she helped create will live on. I can’t wait to team up with her again in the future.”

“Gina has been an important beloved member of the NCIS family for many years,” CBS Entertainment President and Amy Reisenbach and CBS Studios President David Stapf said in a joint statement. “We are incredibly grateful to her for helping launch and steer NCIS: Origins, and bringing these incredible characters and stories to life. We look forward to working with her again in the future on new projects, and know the creative foundation she helped build will continue to thrive.”

NCIS: Origins returns to CBS with new episodes of its second season on March 3.