‘NCIS: Origins’ Finds Its Young Gibbs: Austin Stowell To Star In CBS Prequel Series

Austin Stowell (Catch-22 TV series) is taking on Mark Harmon’s signature NCIS character Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Stowell has been cast as young Gibbs in CBS‘ new drama NCIS: Origins, a prequel to the venerable procedural, which has a straight-to-series order for the 2024-2025 broadcast season. CBS Studios is producing.

Narrated by Harmon, the new series begins in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and chronicles Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ younger years. In the series, Gibbs (Stowell) starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.

Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon, who portrayed Gibbs in flashbacks on NCIS and was a driving force behind the prequel, executive produce alongside David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal who are co-writing the premiere episode and serving as co-showrunners.

Origins is one of two newly greenlighted extensions of CBS Studios’ ever-growing NCIS franchise, along with an Europe-set Tony & Ziva spinoff starring Michael Weatherly and Cote De Pablo for Paramount+. They join the mothership series, now in its 21st season, NCIS: Hawai’i, now in Season 3 and the franchise’s first international installment, NCIS: Sydney.

Stowell’s TV credits also include A Friend of the Family, The Hating Game and Breathe. In features, he has been seen in Battle of the Sexes, Bridge of Spies and Whiplash.