Author’s Note: The following interview contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale of NCIS: Origins “Cecilia.”
NCIS: Origins Season 1 just delivered a powerhouse finale, priming the show for Season 2 and beyond. The NCIS prequel series stars Austin Stowell as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, first played by Mark Harmon on the original NCIS. The prequel follows the story Gibbs “never told” as it explores his early days as NIS (later renamed NCIS) after the murders of his wife Shannon, and his daughter, Kelly. Ahead of the finale, I sat down with co-showrunners, Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North to break down all things, including that major twist at the end of “Cecilia”, as well as where the show goes from there.
COLLIDER: I was jazzed about this show from the second that the concept was announced, so I’m very excited to have the opportunity to talk with you guys now that the season is coming to an end.
GINA LUCITA MONREAL: Awesome! Were you familiar with the mothership NCIS?
Yes, I’ve watched that show since I was 10.
DAVID J. NORTH: We have in our writers’ room some writers and assistants that always talk to me about how they grew up watching the show, and it’s awesome because I don’t remember NCIS canon like they do, but also it makes me feel old. I started writing on the OG NCIS right out of college, so when they start telling me that they’re, like, eight, nine, 10 years old, like you, I’m like, “Yeah, okay.”
Sorry about that! But I grew up watching the show, and I’ve very much enjoyed Origins over the last season.
NORTH: That’s so cool.
‘NCIS: Origins’ Season 1 Finale Was a “Labor of Love”

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There’s so much to unpack in this final episode, with threads coming together, like when you finally start to see a tapestry take its actual shape. You’ve got Macy, Diane, wood supplies. What was that like to pull all of those threads together? It was so satisfying to watch.
NORTH: Yeah, what was that like, Gina? I’m glad it was her and not me.
MONREAL: It’s like torture. [Laughs] It’s a labor of love. That’s a good way to put it. Labor of love. As you said, there are so many threads. We have this cast of characters that we love, and actors who we love to write for, and we didn’t want to leave anybody out of that. We wanted everyone to have an ending and a question at the end of the episode. But also, there is the constant challenge of canon. So, in this one, the canon was particularly difficult because of the Lara Macy (Claire Berger) character and what was established on the mothership for her storyline already.
In the episode with Macy investigating Pedro Hernandez’s murder, how do you end up trying to balance both telling a story that we already sort of know, while also surprising the audience that has been loyal viewers, and also surprising viewers who have dedicatedly been watching this show specifically?
NORTH: I would say not even just in the finale, but overall, that’s the biggest challenge. But it’s one that I’ve been super proud of Gina and I for — that we always step up to. Our whole goal with this series has been if you love NCIS, if you are diehard of the OG NCIS, then you’re going to watch this and the holes are going to be filled in and you’re going to fall in love with these new characters that we’ve populated around Gibbs and Franks. But if you’ve never seen NCIS at all, you’re going to watch this and experience it, and you’re not going to have missed anything and never feel like, “Oh, I didn’t get this.”
Gina really had her hands full with Pedro and all that with Lara Macy on the finale. As you know, Lara was originally introduced in the NCIS: Los Angeles spin-off, which was a planned spin-off on NCIS, but I thought she nailed it. Good job, Gina.
MONREAL: Oh, thanks, dude. I was not alone, that’s for sure. I was not in a vacuum. We had lots of help on that one.
Personally, I think that it’s such an accessible series for people that I know who hadn’t seen it, who enjoy it, so mission accomplished all around for every demographic you’re trying to really hit.
NORTH: Oh, thank you!
Is Mariel Molino’s Lala Dead? The Answer May Surprise You

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So, we’re just going to go ahead and rip the Band-Aid off. Lala? — left to be ambiguous? I felt like I got punched in the face. Can you talk about that, please, with where things go now in terms of the ambiguity or not?
MONREAL: I’ll let you handle that, David.
NORTH: Is it horrible that I like it when you say you felt like you got punched in the face? We don’t want to upset people, but ultimately, I think our whole goal as storytellers is to tell the story honestly — one that we think is an honest story — and to invoke emotion. I always go into it feeling like, “Let’s make people feel something,” as long as it’s true to what story we’re trying to tell. Ultimately, I think we’ve all dealt with that kind of situation where suddenly you blink and you think, “What happened?” It’s a life-changing event with either yourself or a loved one. Gina, very early on, said for this finale, she wanted it to be a story about lives colliding, and we see Gibbs and Lala get so close, only to learn that this little girl named Grace just happened to throw the ball too hard, and her dog ran out, and lives are changed for forever.
As far as the fate of Lala, stay tuned for Season 2. Mariel [Molino] is an absolute powerhouse of an actor, and she, from the beginning, knew that she was signing on to a show that wanted to take big swings. She knew that Gina and I really didn’t want to just set out to do this the normal way. As proud as we are of the OG NCIS, and it’s such a big part of our lives, we wanted to try to do something a little different, and Mariel knew that going into this. We’re just really proud of her performance in the finale, regardless of what happens next.
Honestly, there was a scene where Lala was called a force of nature, and I just love that so much. I’ve seen that all season, and I really, really enjoyed her performance. Maybe more is in store, depending…?
NORTH: The scene with her and Mary Jo [Hayes] (Tyla Abercrumbie), right? We shot that so late at night, at one and two in the morning, our last scene of the entire season. The crew’s tired, the actors are tired, and I sat there and just thought, “We are so lucky.” Watching those two actors do that scene that Gina had written so beautifully, what a way to end the season.
Austin Stowell Had “Big Shoes to Fill From the Beginning” in ‘NCIS: Origins’

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It was probably one of my favorite scenes of the whole finale. How has it been for you all to see Austin [Stowell] grow from stepping into this legacy character and seeing him inch closer to that character that Mark Harmon played for so long and we know so well, but also at the same time making Gibbs his own?
MONREAL: He’s had big shoes to fill from the beginning. Even in the casting process, it was just difficult. Mark Harmon was with us the whole time. We wanted his input. We were so lucky to have him there with us through that process. When Austin came in, we realized that he had, more than anything, what we saw as the core of Gibbs, of this broken man, but this undeniable strength that was within him at the same time. All of us in the room saw that immediately.
As far as seeing him grow, for me, it’s just been such an amazing process. At first, having the opportunity to write for Mark Harmon on NCIS, and absolutely loving to write that character of Gibbs from the beginning, and now seeing Austin step into that role. He did so much research for that role. In Video Village, you’ll be watching the monitor, and you’ll just see something little — it’ll be the way he tightens his jaw, the way he does a tiny nod at the end of some lines. You see that that is him incorporating all of those Gibbs-isms that we have seen on the mothership, and I just so appreciated that about him, that he was willing to go that extra mile and do that deep dive into the character that we love so very much.
NORTH: And we all care so much about that. In the finale, do you remember the scene where Austin comes in and he’s throwing wood planks down? You watch that, and that’s the way Gibbs throws wood. Go back to scenes in the OG NCIS, or even the premiere of Origins, where we had Mark Harmon in the show, and he’s throwing wood down in Alaska. We’re paying attention to details; I hope people are noticing it. That’s the way Gibbs throws wood. I don’t even know how to explain it, other than that’s how he does it.
Oh my gosh! Speaking of the wood, was I correct in picking up on that it will eventually be the boat?
MONREAL: It is the beginning of his woodworking as a form of therapy, for sure.
NORTH: Yeah. Taking his stress out on it certainly, in a way, is the birth of the building of the boat in the basement. I love when Jackson says, “Well, what are you making?” “I don’t know.” It’s like, that’s not even the thing that matters to Gibbs. What matters is that he’s making something.
That brought me literally so much joy. I know that seems so secondary and small to the larger plot, but I feel like I won’t be alone in people who watched the mothership picking up on that.
MONREAL: I love that. That makes me so happy because in writing it, all of us in the room coming up with stuff like that, that’s the stuff that makes us so happy, too. The fact that you’re getting it and it’s bringing you joy, too, makes me so happy.
I’m so jazzed to see where that goes.
Where Will Season 2 Take the Crew of ‘NCIS: Origins’?

So, NCIS: Origins has been greenlit for Season 2. What’s something that you guys wanted to tackle, abstract or otherwise, in Season 1 that you just didn’t have time to do, or something like a dynamic that you want to see worked more with?
NORTH: I think we had everything we wanted to do in Season 1. We jam-packed every episode, and we’re really proud and happy with how it came out. Obviously, in the end of the finale, we see that in this story of lives colliding, Gibbs’ life has collided with his future wife, Diane, and so there’s going to be much more to tell with that story. Also, in the origin story here at [Mike] Frank’s (Kyle Schmid), we met his brother Mason, and they went off to Vietnam together. I definitely think the way that the story was being told, most audiences felt that his brother died in Vietnam, but we realized at the end of the finale that he’s still out there, and there’s a story to be told of why he and his brother have been estranged. I think we all know Mike Franks — if anything, Franks is loyal. He’s a loyal guy, and so for him to have this strained relationship with his brother, I’m interested to explore that.
MONREAL: Also, I’m excited to see the Wheeler story and how that plays out. We want to explore that more with him and Agent Oakley, where that goes — his family, his son. It’s something we got to touch on, but not fully explore. So, I think in Season 2, it’s something we’re looking forward to. Also, Vera, her backstory is wide open. We saw how she dealt with Bugs, and that was so integral to our big arc of the season, but I’m excited to dig deeper into who she is as a human being, as well.
David J. North Says He’s Constantly Asked When Jenny Shepard Is Coming to ‘NCIS: Origins’

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I’ve got a little bit of a selfish fan service question here. I feel like you guys probably have a running list of canon points that will eventually be hit as the show becomes more successful and continues. We saw him meet Diane, and that’s the first of the ex-wives. Is Jenny Shepard on y’all’s radar? I have wanted to see this story since I was 13, and I know that that’s a while away in ‘99, but is that part of the running list of canon points you guys want to hit?
NORTH: [Laughs] Yes. It would be impossible for it not to be because I think maybe once or twice a month, some fan writes me on Instagram and is like, “Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly), Jenny Shepard.” So, even if I wanted to tune it out, I don’t think I could at this point. Yes. Gina and I have discussed it, obviously, as you said, with the timeline, but we’re always trying to explore those things, and we know how much that means to people. Introducing young Tobias Fornell, even for just a beat, means a lot to people. That actor, [Lucas Dixon], as a young Joe Spano, the legendary Joe Spano, was just phenomenal. So, we’d be crazy not to go back to see a little bit more of Fornell.
Also, seriously, kudos to the casting department. I feel like the nail has been hit on the head with everyone’s younger selves. When Diane showed up, my brain went, “Oh my gosh!” Even though it was so short, the nail was just hit on the head, and I’m so jazzed for more.
NORTH: We’ve been so lucky, even going back to the pilot with our characters, with, with Claudia Lion, Devin Quill Aaron… helping us, and then Jason Kennedy and Meredith [Goble], our casting, too. We’re very fortunate.
All episodes of NCIS: Origins are available to stream now on Paramount+.