For the first time in franchise history, NCIS is bridging two timelines — and two generations of storytelling — in a Veterans Day crossover event unlike anything CBS has ever attempted. On November 11, NCIS and NCIS: Origins will collide in a two-hour television event that pulls the past into the present, resurrecting ghosts, secrets, and one of television’s most enduring heroes: Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
After four years of silence, Mark Harmon is returning to the world that made him a household name. Fans last saw Gibbs in 2021, walking away from Washington, D.C., to find peace in the remote stillness of Alaska. Now, the man who built NCIS from the ground up is finally stepping back into the light — not just as a producer, but as Gibbs himself, in scenes that promise to bridge the emotional divide between Origins and the flagship series.
The Two Timelines Collide
The crossover begins with NCIS: Origins’ “Funny How Time Slips Away,” set in 1992. Austin Stowell’s young Gibbs leads the fledgling NIS team into the small, sun-bleached town of Serenity, California, where a naval officer’s mysterious death unravels a web of buried secrets. The deeper they dig, the clearer it becomes that this case — and this town — will shape the man Gibbs is destined to become.
But the past refuses to stay buried.
On NCIS, the second hour — “Now and Then” — brings the case back to life in 2025. When an inmate escapes prison just three weeks before release, the team finds themselves reopening that long-cold Serenity investigation. Retired Special Agent Vera Strickland (played once again by Roma Maffia) returns to lend her expertise — and confront the ghosts she left behind decades earlier.
Maffia’s dual presence on both series creates an elegant symmetry: one woman, two eras, and one haunting mystery linking them all.
Mark Harmon Returns as Gibbs — But Not the One We Remember
Fans had long wondered whether Harmon would ever return onscreen. His character’s departure in NCIS Season 19 felt like a quiet farewell — respectful, final, and tinged with melancholy. Yet for executive producers David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal, Gibbs’ story was never over; it was merely waiting for the right moment to resurface.
“Four years ago, Gibbs disappeared to Alaska to live a life of solitude,” the duo said in a joint statement. “We know how much fans have missed him — and have wondered what he’s doing now. We don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say Gibbs is no longer alone.”
Harmon himself was equally reflective. “I’m very proud of what David and Gina are doing with Origins,” he said. “They’re diving deeper into who Gibbs was before NCIS, exploring what forged his code and his heart. When they came to me with the idea of revisiting him — where he is now — it just felt right. I think fans will be surprised, and maybe even moved, by what they see.”
A Full-Circle Moment
The crossover isn’t just an event — it’s a narrative handshake between past and present, connecting the show that started it all with the prequel rewriting its DNA. Origins gives fans a window into the formation of the team, the trauma that shaped Gibbs, and the origins of his infamous rules. Meanwhile, NCIS continues to wrestle with legacy, loyalty, and what it means to carry the torch forward.
Executive producer North calls it “a love letter to the fans who’ve been here since the beginning,” while Monreal hints at deeper emotional ties: “This isn’t just a mystery. It’s about memory, time, and the way people — even the ones who’ve left us — continue to shape who we are.”
The Power of Legacy
This Veterans Day, the NCIS franchise will not only honor the service of real-life heroes but also pay tribute to a fictional one who has become a symbol of integrity and resilience. Gibbs’ return is not about nostalgia — it’s about continuity, closure, and the unbreakable bond between generations of agents who still live by his rules.
Mark Harmon’s Gibbs may have walked into the Alaskan wilderness years ago, but on November 11, he walks back into our screens — and into television history once again.
NCIS & NCIS: Origins Veterans Day Crossover
Tuesday, November 11 at 8/7c on CBS
