Three NCIS: Origins favourites return to Mark Harmon's Gibbs as major Origins mystery deepens

Three familiar faces from the original NCIS are returning to reunite with Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the third season of NCIS: Origins, bringing some of the show's most recognisable characters back into his life.

Muse Watson is returning as Mike Franks, Roma Maffia will reprise her role as Vera Strickland and Joe Spano is back as Tobias Fornell. Their appearances have been confirmed for three separate episodes airing in the US on 17 November, 1 December and 8 December, with all three expected to play an important part in the ongoing mystery surrounding Lala Dominguez.

Why are three original NCIS characters returning?

Unlike the usual NCIS: Origins storyline, which follows a younger Gibbs working as a naval investigator in the early 1990s, these appearances will form part of the present-day story involving Harmon's older Gibbs.

Harmon, who played Gibbs for 18 seasons of the original series, has returned to an expanded role in the prequel's third season. He continues to narrate the programme but now appears on screen in every episode, with a mystery from his past drawing him out of retirement in Alaska.

The storyline began with Gibbs surviving an attempt on his life, leaving him searching for the person responsible and trying to establish who else might be in danger. His investigation has also brought him back to the mystery surrounding Lala Dominguez, played by Mariel Molino in the 1992 storyline.

Earlier in the season, Gibbs revealed that Lala had died in a plane crash years after their time working together. However, questions remain about what really happened to her, and the returning characters are expected to provide important information about her disappearance and events involving the original team.

Mike Franks returns despite his NCIS death

Watson's return as Mike Franks is particularly intriguing because the character was killed during the eighth season of the original NCIS. Franks had been Gibbs' mentor and remained one of the most influential people in his life, even after Gibbs became an experienced investigator himself.

Although Franks died in 2011, Watson continued to make occasional appearances as visions of the character, including scenes with Harmon in 2017. He also appeared during the crossover between NCIS and NCIS: Origins in 2025, although that appearance did not reunite him directly with Harmon's Gibbs.

Watson returns in the episode airing on 17 November, but the programme has not revealed exactly how a character who died years earlier will feature in the present-day storyline. Whether Gibbs encounters Franks through memories, visions or another storytelling device has yet to be confirmed.

In the 1990s storyline, Mike Franks is played by Kyle Schmid, whose portrayal explores the relationship between the experienced investigator and the younger Gibbs, played by Austin Stowell.

Vera Strickland and Tobias Fornell reunite with Gibbs

Roma Maffia returns as Vera Strickland on 1 December, bringing back another character with a long connection to Gibbs and his early career.

Maffia previously played Vera in the original NCIS and returned for the 2025 crossover, although she did not share scenes with Harmon on that occasion. Diany Rodriguez plays the younger Vera in NCIS: Origins, allowing viewers to see how her relationship with the team developed during the 1990s.

Joe Spano follows on 8 December as former FBI agent Tobias Fornell, one of Gibbs' closest friends and longest-serving allies. Their relationship was often complicated by their shared former wife, Diane, but the two men developed a friendship that survived years of difficult investigations and personal losses.

Spano first appeared as Fornell in the original NCIS premiere in 2003 and went on to appear in nearly 60 episodes, most recently returning to the parent series in 2024. He last shared scenes with Harmon during season 18 in 2021, making their reunion particularly significant for viewers who followed their friendship.

His appearance will see Fornell working alongside Gibbs again as the former NCIS agent pursues another dangerous lead. A younger version of Fornell has already appeared in NCIS: Origins, played by Lucas Dixon, but this will be Spano's first appearance in the prequel.

There is also a connection between all three returning characters, with Franks helping shape Gibbs' early career, Vera sharing his experiences during those formative years and Fornell becoming one of his most trusted friends in the decades that followed.

Bringing them together during a storyline involving Lala suggests Gibbs may need to revisit some of the most difficult moments of his past to discover what really happened. With the third season consisting of ten episodes, the appearances in November and December will take the mystery towards its conclusion, although the precise answers remain under wraps.

Where to watch NCIS Origins in the UK

NCIS: Origins is available to stream on Paramount+ in the UK, with the first two seasons currently available. A confirmed UK release date for season three has not yet been announced, so the November and December dates refer to the American broadcasts.

In the US, new episodes air on CBS on Tuesdays at 10pm Eastern Time and are available through Paramount+.