NCIS: Origins Casts Younger Version of Fan-Favorite Character
The NCIS prequel has added a younger version of Special Agent Vera Strickland.
NCIS: Origins has added two more members to the cast of the NCIS prequel — including the younger version of another fan-favorite character. According to Deadline, Tyla Abercrumbie and Diany Rodriguez have signed on to the CBS series, rounding out the series regular cast. NCIS: Origins was given a straight-to-series order for the 2024-2025 broadcast season back in January.
Abercrumbie is set to play Field Operation Support Officer Mary Jo who is described as "both a product of her time and the lifeblood of the Camp Pendleton office. With all the acronyms floating around the agency, this mama bear has wryly dubbed herself 'HSIC': Head Secretary in Charge. If you want to know where the bodies are buried, Mary Jo's the one to ask."
Rodriguez is set to play Special Agent Vera Strickland. The character was previously played by Roma Maffia in an NCIS Season 11 episode. This version of the character is described as "a no=nonsense, sharp-witted Brooklynite who's tough as nails and never minces words. She's spent her entire career being underestimated by misogynistic morons (as she calls them) but if it's a fight those good ol' boys are looking for, then it's a fight they're going to get."
Abercrumbie is known for her role as Nina Williams' on Showtimes' The Chi and has also appeared in Low Winter Sun, The Mob Doctor, and The Chicago Code. Rodriquez is known for her role as Weecha Xiu on NBC's The Blacklist and has also appeared on Twisted Metal and The Equalizer. Interestingly enough, Rodriguez has also previously appeared in the NCIS universe, playing DHS Agent Garcia in an episode of NCIS: New Orleans. Both actors join the previously cast Austin Stowell and Mariel Molino.
What is NCIS: Origins About?
NCIS: Origins is a prequel series that will follow young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon in the original NCIS). The series is set in 1991, with Harmon set to narrate. "In the series, Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks."
David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal, both of which wrote on NCIS for a decade, co-wrote the prequel's pilot and will serve as executive producers and co-showrunners.
"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."
Another NCIS Spinoff is in the Works
In addition to NCIS: Origins coming to CBS, Paramount+ has ordered an NCIS spinoff centered around the fan-favorite pairing Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo). The new Paramount+ series, which is slated to start production later this year in Europe, will open on the pair in Paris, but "when Tony's security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe, try to figure out who is after them and maybe even learn to trust each other again so that they can finally have their unconventional happily ever after."
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