Mariel Molino to Join NCIS: ORIGINS Cast
By Movieguide® Contributor
NCIS: ORIGINS showrunners announced that Mariel Molino has been cast to play the female lead in CBS’s upcoming prequel that explores the story of young Leroy Gibbs.
Molino joins the show as a new character in the NCIS universe: Special Agent Lala Dominguez. She is written as “a former Marine who navigates her 1990s male-dominated field with a steely resolve and a dark sense of humor. When a tormented Leroy Jethro Gibbs joins her team, the ensuing story between these two enigmatic outsiders is filled with sparks and turns that will keep the audience guessing,” per Deadline.
A Mexican-American actress, Molino began her acting career in Hispanic projects, such as the telenovela PAPIS MUY PADRES, EL JUEGO DE LAS LLEVAS and LA NEGOCIADORA, before switching to English projects, including PROMISED LAND, THE WATCHFUL EYE and THE SHADE.
Molino joins Austin Stowell, who has been cast to play young Gibbs. Mark Harmon is also returning to narrate the show – as an older Gibbs looking back – while also serving as an executive producer.
NCIS: ORIGINS’s official description reads, “Gibbs (Stowell) starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.”
While production is in its early stages, the show is expected to debut on CBS’s lineup in 2024-2025.
ORIGINS is not the only expansion to the NCIS universe currently in the works. Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo are reprising their roles as Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David. The show will follow the lovers as they tackle parenthood while running across Europe to escape a great threat.
Without a name or release date, the show’s 10-episode inaugural season has many mysteries. What is known, however, is that it is currently being produced for Paramount+.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Paramount+ has given NCIS fans much to be excited about as the platform recently ordered a new NCIS spinoff starring Michael Weatherly – Tony DiNozzo – and Cote de Pablo – Ziva David.
“We’ve been talking about this story for many years, and now, with John McNamara at the helm, we are ready,” Weatherly and de Pablo said in a joint statement about the show. “The world of Tony and Ziva (and daughter Tali) promises to be an action-packed roller coaster fueled by love, danger, tears and laughter.”
“We also wanted to acknowledge and thank the fans from around the world who supported the ‘TIVA’ movement for years,” the statement continued. “To this day, they say hello in grocery stores and on the street to tell us how much these characters mean to them and ask what Tony and Ziva are up to now.”