NCIS: Origins will return for the highly anticipated season 2 in October — but will everyone from the cast be back?
During the season 1 finale of the NCIS prequel, the young Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ (Austin Stowell) part in killing the man who was responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter was discovered by his partner Lala Dominguez’s (Mariel Molino) friend Macy (Claire Berger).
While Lala was able to convince Macy to stay quiet, she didn’t appear to get her own happy ending. After leaving a meeting with Macy, Lala got in a car accident that could be fatal — just hours after she nearly kissed Gibbs, which fans were hoping for all season.
“We can’t promise that [Lala is alive] but we can promise that you’ll get an answer if you come back in season 2,” cocreator David J. North exclusively told Us Weekly in April. “Going into this, we wanted to take big swings.”
He teased, “Mariel knew going into this that we were going to take big swings and she was on board for whatever was the best way to make the audience feel something in a truthful way. That’s what we’re doing.”
Molino has since stayed mostly quiet about Lala’s fate, causing viewers to wonder what other stars will be back for season 2.
Scroll down for everything we know about the actors that are — and aren’t — returning to NCIS: Origins:
Austin Stowell
NCIS: Origins revolves around Stowell’s portrayal of the young Leroy Jethro Gibbs after getting his start as an NIS agent (it doesn’t become NCIS until years later) in the ’90s, so his fate in season 2 was never really in question. However, the actor revealed on July 27 that he was officially slipping back into Gibbs mode for filming.
“Gibbs is back in 5 … 4 … 3… 2 … 1 …,” Stowell captioned an Instagram video where he transformed into the NIS agent by ditching his blond-tipped hair for the character’s iconic buzzcut.
Kyle Schmid
Schmid’s Mike Franks might be mending a broken heart to start season 2 — his longtime love Tish, (Tonantzin Carmelo), left him toward the end of season 1 — but his return to the procedural is not in question.
The actor, who is expecting his second baby with wife Caity Lotz, was spotted on set in July and August, according to behind-the-scenes photos shared by the show’s Instagram page.
Mariel Molino
The creators and cast have tried to remain tight-lipped about Molino’s possible return as Lala Dominguez following her character’s potentially fatal car crash. Cocreator North exclusively told Us in April that fans will get an “answer” during the new season — but didn’t say when.
However, Molino seemingly hinted at her goodbye in April, telling TVLine, “[I am going to miss] just our crew. Our crew and our cast, we get along so well. I miss seeing all the familiar faces every morning, joking around, doing this show that we love to do so much. I feel really lucky. I really like these guys, I like my team, I really like my character. So, I do miss them, but it’s definitely nice to have a little break as well.”
Fans, meanwhile, are convinced that Molino will be back as Lala — at least to start the season — after the actress posted an Instagram photo of her dog on the same Paramount lot on July 28 where the NCIS: Origins cast was filming season 2. The picture featured the same view as a photo uploaded by Schmid from the set as Franks.
Caleb Foote
Foote’s fate as Bernard “Randy” Randolf came into question during the season 1 finale after he expressed a desire to get moved to a desk job instead of being in the field due to the level of danger the team always seems to encounter.
North, however, exclusively told Us in April that he’s not going anywhere. “We can’t get enough Randy. So in season 2, there’s going to be no shortage of Randy,” the cocreator explained. “But he’s struggling with something. A lot of those agents and police officers do.”
North added: “It’s hard when you have a family and it’s a dangerous job. So he’s struggling with that. But we can promise you there’s going to be no shortage of Randy.”
Foote has been part of the behind-the-scenes photos circulating from the set over the summer months.
Tyla Abercrumbie
Abercrumbie, who plays NIS’ secretary extraordinaire Mary Joe Sullivan, confirmed her return for season 2 via an Instagram photo with Schmid. “Mary Jo — Frank’s — NCISO — the team is back 10/14!!!” she captioned the snap on August 8.
She has since shared videos from her trailer on set and teased videos of herself dressed character via social media.
Diany Rodriguez
Rodriguez played the only other female NIS agent in the office, Vera Strickland, during season 1. Fans are hopeful that her story line will continue — as will her work profiling criminals — during season 2, but she has not publicly announced her return.
The NCIS: Origins season 1 finale seemingly killed a main character, introduced a new character from Gibbs’ future and potentially added fuel to an Us fan theory. During the Monday, April 28, finale of the hit CBS series, Gibbs’ (Austin Stowell) connection to Pedro Hernandez’s death was investigated by Lala’s (Mariel Molino) friend Macy (Claire […]
Patrick Fischler
Fischler has played Special Agent in Charge of the Camp Pendleton field office Cliff Wheeler since season 1. While Wheeler faced ridicule over some of his subordinates’ actions last season, he is coming back for another round. Fischler was spotted on set to kick off shooting in August, according to the official NCIS Instagram page.
Kathleen Kenny
During the season 1 finale, one of Gibbs’ future wives, Diane Sterling, played by Kenny, was briefly introduced when the realtor came to meet with the NIS agent to talk about selling his home, which he shared with his late wife, Shannon, and late daughter, Kelly.
“So pumped to play Diane Sterling on @ncisverse @cbstv @paramountplus go watch the finale!” Kelly teased via Instagram in April, hinting that it’s just the beginning of her time on the show.
Her return for season 2 has not been confirmed, but fans of the original NCIS know that Diane was one of Gibbs’ four wives. (The order went as follows: Shannon, Diane, Rebecca and Stephanie.)
“We don’t know Lala’s fate yet but in canon — according to where we are in time — this is when Diane would come into the picture,” cocreator Gina Lucita Monreal exclusively told Us in April, playing coy about how much fans might see of Diane next season. “We always approach these things — as they seem like huge challenges — how we’re going to write that into the tapestry of our story. But it always ends up being a plus somehow in the end figuring out how to weave these stories together.”
Season 2 of NCIS: Origins premieres on CBS Tuesday, October 14, at 9 p.m. ET.
