Mark Harmon may have left NCIS five years ago, but he’s remained attached to the franchise since then. He serves as executive producer and narrator on NCIS: Origins and has reprised his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs on a few occasions for the prequel. Ahead of his much-anticipated return to Origins on the 2026 TV schedule, NCIS just dropped a sick stat about Harmon playing Gibbs that’s blowing my mind.
Fans first met Gibbs in the two-part backdoor pilot on JAG in 2003, and he has been a staple in the franchise since then. Now that he’ll be returning for Origins’ entire upcoming season, fans are as excited as ever for his comeback. To get viewers excited, the official NCIS Instagram shared some fun facts about the beloved character, and just seeing exactly how many episodes he’s been in is blowing my mind:
Playing the same character for 475 episodes across three shows is definitely impressive. Of course, there are a couple actors in the NCISverse who have been in more, but it’s still mind blowing. That being said, Harmon starring in the first 18 seasons of NCIS and appearing on Origins, his episode count was sure to be high. However, seeing the actual number makes it all the more real.
Now Harmon will be adding to that number this fall. As previously mentioned, he is set to return on-screen as Gibbs for the upcoming third season of NCIS: Origins. Unlike the first two seasons, he will be appearing in all episodes of Season 3, which will consist of just 10 episodes. According to Deadline, ghosts from Gibbs’ past will come to the surface, interrupting his peaceful retirement in Alaska. It’s going to be exciting to see Gibbs on-screen more this season rather than just narrating, and there’s no telling what will be in store.
Whether or not Harmon will ever return to the Mothership is unknown. Gibbs seems to be pretty content in Alaska. If anything, NCIS has occasionally brought Gibbs back into the fold by name-dropping him or referencing an old case, etc. And if we can’t get him on the Mothership, his appearances on the prequel definitely make up for it. Plus, since he’s so close to 500 episodes, I can only imagine that he’d want to keep it going until he reaches the milestone, whichever show he does it for.
For now, fans will be able to look forward to Mark Harmon adding to his incredible NCIS episode count when he appears in all 10 episodes of NCIS: Origins Season 3. The season premiere will be on Tuesday, October 6 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, following the series premiere of NCIS: New York. All seasons of NCIS and Origins are streaming with a Paramount+ subscription, so fans can get all the Gibbs content they need beforehand.
