2024– · Based on 2 seasons through May 5, 2026 ·
NCIS: Origins follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs in 1991, soon after he joins the early NIS office at Camp Pendleton. Gibbs works under Mike Franks with a rough team while grieving the murders of his wife and daughter. The team investigates military crimes, killers, missing people, and threats within the service. The show uses a darker and more personal tone than the main NCIS series. The show gives major attention to Cliff Wheeler’s secret relationship with FBI agent Noah Oakley. Wheeler faces marriage problems, secrecy, blackmail fears, and possible military punishment because of the relationship. The story treats Wheeler and Oakley with sympathy while placing their relationship in the dangerous setting of the early 1990s. Lala Dominguez also becomes a major female agent and an important part of Gibbs’s emotional story. These elements matter, but most episodes remain military crime stories with personal drama rather than activist stories.
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Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for NCIS: Origins.
Woke representation / casting
The show gives prominent roles to Latina, Black, and native characters in the NIS team and supporting cast. The main team also includes several capable women in law enforcement and medical roles. The casting fits a diverse military setting, so the score stays low. The repeated mix of identities is visible to viewers.
18%
Woke political dialogue
Season 2 includes direct discussion of Wheeler’s same sex relationship and the danger of exposure under the military rules of that period. The dialogue treats the fear and punishment as harmful to Wheeler. These scenes form a meaningful subplot. Modern identity slogans and speeches are not common across the series.
24%
Identity-driven story themes
The show repeatedly follows Wheeler’s hidden relationship with Noah Oakley across both seasons. Season 2 makes his sexuality, marriage, secrecy, and fear of blackmail part of his personal and work problems. The story also gives Lala a large emotional and professional role. The main series remains a crime drama about Gibbs.
43%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The Wheeler story shows how military rules and fear of exposure damage a person’s life. The series treats that situation as a character problem within its 1990s setting. The story does not build a broad modern attack on the military, family life, Christianity, or Western culture.
10%
Woke character or canon changes
The show adds a gay backstory and secret romance for established NCIS character Cliff Wheeler. The change becomes a continuing subplot involving Noah Oakley, Wheeler’s wife, and his position at NIS. The series also expands Lala into a major figure connected to Gibbs. The Wheeler change is the clearest identity related canon addition.
31%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
A few small or anonymous accounts called the gay story, LGBT romance, or mixed race romance woke. Reddit also contains isolated complaints that the franchise has become woke. The complaints had little reach. No major outlet, public official, boycott, or review bombing campaign was found.
9%
Creator track record context
Gina Lucita Monreal has a stored score of 44/100 and has worked through diversity fellowships and on shows with diverse casts. David J. North has a stored score of 0/100. Most other key creators have low or moderate stored scores. The overall creator signal is present but not strong.
25%
Production
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