Some new faces are joining NCIS: Origins. Deadline reports that Patrick Fischler and Julian Black Antelope will be recurring in the upcoming NCIS prequel, premiering on CBS this fall. Mad Men star Fischler is set to play NCIS Special Agent in Charge Cliff Walker. He oversees the NIS Pendleton Office and puts his career on the line "to earn NIS Pendleton the respect it deserves" since the agency keeps getting pushed aside by bigger ones.
Prey star Black Antelope will portray Chief Medical Examiner Kai Blackrock, who works out of the San Diego County M.E.'s Office. He has complicated ties to NIS, which "force him to face his own vulnerabilities. Fischler and Black Antelope join the previously announced cast Austin Stowell, Mariel Molino, Kyle Schmid, Tyla Abercrumbie, and Diany Rodriguez. NCIS: Origins takes place in 1991 and follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling Camp Pendleton office and on a team led by the legendary Mike Franks.
Along with Mad Men, Patrick Fischler is also known for Lost, Southland, Happy!, Mulholland Drive, American Fiction, One Upon a Time, The Black Dahlia, Nash Bridges, and many more. His most recent role was in the 2023 mystery drama The Mill. Meanwhile, Julian Black Antelope can also be seen can also be seen in Tribal, Thunderbird, The Secret History of: The Wild West, Blackstone, and others.
As of now, a premiere date has yet to be announced for NCIS: Origins. The series is part of CBS' 2024 fall schedule, meaning that fans can expect it sometime later this year, hopefully in September or October. It will be taking over NCIS: Hawai'i's timeslot on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET following the Mothership after the spinoff's surprise cancellation. It shouldn't be long until a premiere date is announced, but fans will be happy to know that they will be reuniting with Gibbs very, very soon.
More actors are likely to be added to the cast for Origins as it gets close to the show's premiere, and it's going to be interesting to see if any more will be the younger version of an already-established NCIS character. In the meantime, though, all 21 seasons of NCIS are streaming on Paramount+. That will surely keep viewers occupied for quite some time while waiting for Origins' highly-anticipated premiere.