NCIS fans, it's finally time to meet your new Dwayne Pride.
Fans of the franchise have been itching to know who will play the younger version of the mothership series' beloved character, in the franchise's latest spin-off, NCIS: Origins.
The spin-off follows a young, fellow beloved character Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by Austin Stowell, during his early years in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton. And now, a familiar, albeit younger version, face is joining him.
Deadline has confirmed that Shea Buckner will appear for one episode of the spin-off's second season as Dwayne "King" Pride, the character Scott Bakula played on the original from from 2014 to 2021. Shea most recently featured in Only Murders in the Building, and in addition to being an actor, he is an Olympian water polo player, and competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Per the outlet, in the prequel, Pride is a newly minted Probationary Special Agent from the NIS Panama office, who has a history with Gibbs, and the two must resolve their past tension as they go undercover on a case.
Deadline further reports that while the episode will focus heavily on Pride, it will also reunite the Fed Five task force, a group of exceptional NIS agents who found fame after unmasking the Privileged Killer, Spencer Hanlon, in the original NCIS' 11th season.
The Fed Five included Gibbs, who was originally played by Mark Harmon, Pride, and Michael Franks, who was originally played by Muse Watson and is now played by Kyle Schmid in Origins. It also included Felix Betts (originally played by Stuart Margolin), and Dan McLane, who is dead by the time the events of the mothership series take place; CBS is currently casting for the two.
Earlier in the second season, NCIS: Origins featured the highly-anticipated return of Mark, who left NCIS in 2021 but who remains an executive producer on both series, for a cameo.
The Freaky Friday actor, speaking with TV Insider about making his onscreen return, said it's a "comfortable spot" to return to. "And that has to do with the creative process and who you're working with. And these two were so special as writers and it's also why those two developed the Origins footprint on their own. And I certainly backed that, their choice to do that," he said, referring to show creators David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal.
"It's comfortable. I mean, the sets are comfortable. They're comfortable. I know who they are. You have a big backlog of time together with people and they're special. That's what 20 years in the saddle does — it gives you a comfort that is somewhat rare. I don't know that that's on every set I've ever been on. And it is also important that the crew and all those people are people," he added.
As for what the odds are that he'll return for more than just a cameo, he's not sure about them, though admitted that creators Gina and David did have an idea. "I obviously like them, I admire 'em, worked with 'em for a very long time. They're very good. They had an idea and I liked the idea. I try really hard to think about what's best for the show or what possibly can work for this show. But part of that also is giving them the ability to write what they feel is right for the reasons they feel it's right."
He continued: "I try hard not to bother them, not to make their job harder than it is, and it's plenty hard just developing this new show. And I'm reminded by that because it's exactly what the mothership was when it first debuted. And this is on a similar path, which is not a bad idea if it works. So we'll see."