Harmon will return in the flesh for a special crossover event on Tuesday, Nov. 11. For one night only, “NCIS” and “NCIS: Origins” are swapping time slots; the spinoff will air first at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the original series.

Besides the central actors Austin Stowell, Kyle Schmidt, and Mariel Molino, Philip Winchester and Adam Campbell are slated to join NCIS: Origins Season 2 as guest actors

As NCIS: Origins moves forward, fans can expect emotional complexity, professional stakes, and romance that’s both teased and restrained. Gibbs’ journey isn’t just about love — it’s about the making of a leader, a partner, and an agent whose choices reverberate across the franchise.

NCIS: Origins revealed more of the backstory of Special Agent Leroy Gibbs ( Austin Stowell) and NIS medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard ( Adam Campbell) on tonight’s episode, and it was a surprise how much Gibbs’ friendship meant to Ducky and how little of it Gibbs remembered.

Gibbs (Austin Stowell) and Ducky Mallard (Adam Campbell) already have a personal history together, which is why Ducky's called in as a liaison between Gibbs' people at Camp Pendleton and the D.C. NCIS office — and also why Ducky gifts Gibbs upon their parting with a special object that they both admired while out on the town together: a boat in a glass bottle.

Gibbs gets a visitor at Camp Pendleton from DC Headquarters in a new NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 3 sneak peek. See the very special reunion here.

NCIS: Origins has set the stage for a compelling romance between Gibbs (Austin Stowell) and Lala (Mariel Molino), but the spinoff is foregoing it because of existing lore about th