NCIS: Origins Season 2 Could Bring Back a Fan‑Favorite—And Finally Explain His Bond with Gibbs
NCIS: Origins has stayed loyal to franchise canon, and all signs point to one long‑time favorite stepping into a bigger spotlight next season: Tobias Fornell. The younger version of the future FBI stalwart made a brief cameo in season 1, episode 6, munching tacos while working a case with Noah Oakley, Wheeler, and Mike Franks. According to co‑showrunner David J. North, that taste was only the appetizer: “We’d love to see young Fornell come back—sooner rather than later.”
A larger role for Fornell makes perfect sense. In the early ’90s timeline he’s still a mid‑level FBI agent, exactly the rank that would have him crossing paths with Naval Investigative Service cases. More importantly, Origins still hasn’t shown the moment Gibbs and Fornell first meet—an omission that grows more glaring each episode, given how inseparable the two become in NCIS. Season 2 is the ideal time to establish their first team‑up and lay the groundwork for the hard‑won friendship fans know so well.
The personal stakes are just as juicy: the season‑1 finale introduced Gibbs’ future second wife, Diane Sterling, who will one day divorce Gibbs and marry Fornell. That tangled history—complete with messy break‑ups and, eventually, the birth of Fornell’s daughter Emily—needs room to breathe. Giving young Fornell a meatier arc in season 2 would deepen Gibbs’ backstory, honor NCIS lore, and deliver the kind of character‑driven drama that keeps viewers coming back.
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