NCIS Origins Reunites Gibbs and DiNozzo on October 20

A decade after their last shared scenes in the original NCIS, Mark Harmon and Michael Weatherly will reunite as Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Tony DiNozzo in NCIS Origins. CBS scheduled the reunion episode for October 20, bringing the longtime colleagues together at NCIS headquarters in Washington, D.C., after Gibbs is shot by unknown assailants.

The episode follows the October 6 premiere of NCIS Season 24, which marked Weatherly's return as DiNozzo and established his new position as the agency's director. According to reports from USA TODAY and Yahoo, Gibbs will seek assistance from his former subordinate as he investigates the circumstances surrounding his shooting.

A preview released through the official NCISverse Instagram account shows Gibbs arriving at the headquarters with a backpack and approaching the office bearing DiNozzo's director nameplate. The scene ends before viewers see the complete reunion.

Gibbs emphasizes the importance of family as he returns to the agency.

"You're home. And home means family," Gibbs says in the preview. "And whether it's been 10 minutes or 10 years, when you need them, family is always there."

The reunion brings together two central figures from the original series. Harmon played Gibbs, a demanding team leader who served as a mentor to DiNozzo, while Weatherly portrayed the quick-witted agent for 13 seasons.

Harmon and Weatherly last appeared together in the NCIS Season 13 finale, "Family First," which aired May 17, 2016. In that episode, DiNozzo resigned from the agency after discovering that he and Ziva had a daughter, Tali.

Weatherly left the original series in 2016 and later made a brief appearance in the 2024 episode "The Stories We Leave Behind," which honored medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, played by David McCallum. Harmon continued portraying Gibbs until his departure from the original series in 2021.

Harmon has returned as an executive producer and recurring on-screen presence in Season 3 of NCIS Origins. The prequel primarily follows a younger Gibbs, played by Austin Stowell, during the early 1990s, with a present-day mystery connecting the story to Gibbs' time at Camp Pendleton.

The ensemble also includes Kyle Schmid, Mariel Molino, Tyla Abercrumbie, Diany Rodriguez and Caleb Foote. Harmon narrates the series while his character's earlier career provides the historical backdrop for the franchise's expanding storyline.

Additional crossover appearances and a larger franchise event are also planned. Brian Dietzen, who plays medical examiner Dr. Jimmy Palmer, appeared in the October 6 premiere of NCIS: New York alongside LL Cool J's Sam Hanna.

CBS has also announced a two-part NCIS crossover event for November 11, bringing together the flagship series and NCIS Origins in a case spanning decades. Wilmer Valderrama and Austin Stowell previewed the event in a video announcement, with Valderrama describing it as "an NCIS crossover event like no other."

The Gibbs and DiNozzo reunion episode of NCIS Origins is scheduled to air October 20 at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time on CBS, with streaming available on Paramount+.