NCIS Prequel Series Casts Mariel Molino

Back in January, CBS ordered an NCIS prequel series that will follow young Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The series will be titled NCIS: Origins and is set to debut in the 2024-2025 season. The show takes place in 1991, and Austin Stowell will play young Gibbs with Mark Harmon serving as the show's narrator. Today, Variety revealed the show has added Mariel Molino (Promised Land) to the cast.

According to the report, Molino is playing a new character named Special Agent Lala Dominguez. The character is described as "a former Marine who navigates her 1990s male-dominated field with a steely resolve and a dark sense of humor. When a tormented Leroy Jethro Gibbs joins her team, the ensuing story between these two enigmatic outsiders is filled with sparks and turns that will keep the audience guessing."

David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal co-wrote the prequel's pilot and are set to take on the roles of executive producers and co-showrunners. North and Monreal wrote on NCIS for a decade, and North currently serves as the co-showrunner on the long-running series. You can read the new show's official description here: "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."

"We are elated and honored to continue the expansion of the 'NCIS' universe in such a unique and unexpected way," Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement. "Viewers can look forward to Mark Harmon returning to CBS to narrate the complex and mysterious backstory of Leroy Jethro Gibbs' early years in 'NCIS: Origins,' which will build on the rich legacy of this character while reintroducing fan-favorite characters and meeting new ones."

"There's no denying the cultural and global phenomenon of the 'NCIS' franchise for the last 20 years," David Stapf, president of CBS Studios, added. "When Sean and Mark approached us all with this exciting expansion of the universe – exploring a young Gibbs – we knew it was the next story that needed to be told. We also couldn't be luckier to have Gina and David at the helm as co-showrunners who are not only brilliant and adept writers, but know this character and universe so well."

Stay tuned for more updates about NCIS: Origins.