A long-running NCIS talent is returning to the procedural franchise to contribute in a new role.

After playing Marty Deeks on NCIS: Los Angeles for nearly the entirety of its run, Eric Christian Olsen is now working behind the scenes on NCIS: Origins as an executive producer. This is the second CBS series where he’s carrying out these duties, following the Matlock reboot. Olsen explained why he felt joining season 3 of the prequel series was the right move for his professional career.

During his appearance on Partners & Probies, along with sharing the lingering NCIS: Los Angeles mystery he wants to see resolved, Olsen discussed how he boarded NCIS: Origins following the exit of co-creator and co-showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal. Someone called the Deeks actor to see whether he and his team would be willing to help out David J. North, fellow Origins co-creator and now the sole showrunner on season 3. Olsen said agreeing to this was an “absolute yes,” explaining:

Obviously, the NCIS universe is such an important part of my life, and the opportunity to come in and help with everything we talked about, what you see every day on the mothership, ‘How how can I help? How can I have a voice at this table that can help fix some of the stuff that we’re seeing?’ This isn’t so much fixing in as much as it’s the support after losing one of your co-showrunners. So just giving them, as I said, every opportunity to tell the best version of that story because I think the audience deserves it, and I think that cast and that crew deserve it. We’re so excited about season 3 and some of the ideas that we have.

Olsen began his executive producing career on the Hulu series Woke, which ran for two seasons. In addition to his acting work on NCIS: Los Angeles, he also co-wrote the season 11 episode “Mother.” With the behind-the-scenes experience he’s gathered over the years, Olsen felt he could be helpful putting together NCIS: Origins season 3 as an executive producer during this time of transition. He described what’s been crafted for the season 3 premiere as “compelling.”

The NCIS: Origins season 2 finale ended with Austin Stowell’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Mariel Molino’s Lala Dominguez finally kissing. Between that and the Camp Pendleton office shutdown being successfully averted, the episode ended on a mostly positive note. The one dark spot was Caleb Foote’s Randy being kidnapped by masked men because of the work he’d been doing digitizing NIS’s files.

Along with those plot threads being revisited, NCIS: Origins season 3 will also see Mark Harmon, the original Gibbs actor who narrates and also executive produces this series, being given an expanded role. It was announced at the end of June that Harmon would appear onscreen as Gibbs for every season 3 episode as part of a present-day storyline. He previously reprised his character in Origins in front of the camera for the pilot episode and season 2’s “Funny How Time Slips Away,” which was part of a crossover with NCIS.

NCIS: Origins is one of the NCIS franchise’s four shows that will air on CBS during the 2027-2027 TV season, the others being the flagship series, NCIS: Sydney, and new addition NCIS: New York. However, both Origins season 3 and Sydney season 4 will consist of only 10 episodes each. Origins will first air in the 10 p.m. ET timeslot during the fall, and then Sydney will take over that slot midseason.