When is NCIS: Origins returning after its mid-season break? Details explored 

NCIS: Origins is the prequel show to the original NCIS on CBS. The debut season of NCIS: Origins reached its mid-season finale on December 16, 2024, after which it went on a six-week hiatus. NCIS: Origins is returning once again to CBS after the end of its mid-season break on Monday, January 27, 2025.

The mid-season hiatus has been attributed to the holiday season when the time slots of the network are usually brimming with Christmas and New Year's themed programming.

As a prequel to the original NCIS, the CBS show tells the story of a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs as he gets started on his career in the Naval Investigative Service before he came to the NCIS. The structure of the show takes the form of exploring several of Gibbs' flashbacks that were there in the original show. Apart from relying on previous flashbacks, NCIS: Origins also builds new storylines around the familiar character, thus giving them a fresh perspective.

Despite having the potential to once again bring back the popularity of the former television institution that NCIS once was, NCIS: Origins has so far been met with a lukewarm response. It is due to this fact that it is yet undecided whether the CBS show shall be renewed for a second season.

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What happened in the first half of NCIS: Origins?

Gibbs freaked out after killing Pedro Hernandez, and he was evicted. However, when Ruth, the apartment manager, saw him sleeping in his truck bed, she changed her mind. The two bonded over beer and jigsaw puzzles. When Ruth was robbed one afternoon, Gibbs pursued the robbers in his vehicle, with Ruth riding along and writing down the criminals' license plate.

Ruth ultimately admitted to being a bad mother to her child who lives in New Orleans. Ruth also stated that Gibbs would make an excellent cop due to his ability to track down Pedro Hernandez, care for her robbers, and his general observation skills. Thereupon Gibbs left for FLETC in Georgia.

Gibbs returned two months later and uncovered from Ruth that she was dying of blood cancer. He was still absorbing the news when he went in for his NIS psychological evaluation. The episode then switches to the current day, when Gibbs has learned of Ruth's death, prompting him to immerse himself in a woodworking job in the NIS basement.

Along the way, he discovered a shredded report on Operation Sundown, also referred to as a "catastrophic mishandling" of the series' first murder probe, which was eventually put on a drifter by the name of Bugs.

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Showrunner opens up about NCIS: Origins

David J. North, the co-showrunner of NCIS: Origins, recently spoke in an exclusive interview with TVLine. During the interview, he remarked about the narrative importance of Operation Sundown:

"Operation Sundown is going to be big deal. I don’t want to give away too much with that, but obviously with Bugs…. I know some people missed it, but at the end of “The Sandman Part 2” (the series premiere), Mark’s voiceover says “the worst monsters lie in wait” and then come back, so this was always the plan. Snipers in reality do work in pairs, and we’re going to learn that Bugs had a partner and it’s the bigger bad that was more responsible for all this."

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NCIS: Origins episode eleven airs on January 27, 2025, on CBS.