The NCIS universe is about to connect its past in a major way. NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 11, titled “Feelin’ Alright?,” will bring together the original Fed Five task force, featuring the highly anticipated debut of a young Dwayne “King” Pride. The episode is scheduled to air on Tuesday, February 23, 2026, at 9:00 PM ET/PT on CBS .
This special episode will serve as a prequel origin story for the beloved character from NCIS: New Orleans, showing his early days as a probationary agent alongside a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Release Date, Time, and Streaming Details for Episode 11
CBS has confirmed that new episodes of NCIS: Origins will return from its mid-season break on February 23, 2026. Episode 11 will air in its regular Tuesday night time slot at 9:00 PM Eastern Time / 8:00 PM Central Time .
For viewers who prefer streaming, the episode will be available on Paramount+. Subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan can watch the episode live as it airs on CBS. Essential plan subscribers will be able to stream the episode on demand starting the following day, February 24, 2026 .
International viewers in the UK can watch the episode on Paramount+, though the availability date typically follows the US broadcast by a day .
The Fed Five Assembles: Cast and Characters
The biggest news for Episode 11 is the completion of the Fed Five casting. The show has brought in two veteran actors to join the previously announced Shea Buckner, who plays young Pride .
Adam Kulbersh (known for Modern Family and Law & Order: SVU) will portray NIS Special Agent Felix Betts. Betts is described as an auditor from the Los Angeles office who is brought in to assist a new task force at Camp Pendleton .
Mark Deklin (Blue Bloods) has been cast as NIS Special Agent Dan McLane. McLane is a highly respected veteran field agent working out of the Panama office. He is called in to lead the joint task force aimed at stopping a stolen weapons ring .
Shea Buckner plays the young Dwayne Pride, a role originated by Scott Bakula on NCIS: New Orleans. Pride is a newly minted Probationary Special Agent from the NIS Panama office and a former Sheriff’s Deputy .
They join the core NCIS: Origins cast, including Austin Stowell as young Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Kyle Schmid as Mike Franks, rounding out the five-member task force .
What is the Fed Five Storyline?
The Fed Five storyline has deep roots in NCIS history. It was first explored in the two-part NCIS Season 11 episodes “Crescent City” (Parts 1 and 2), which served as the backdoor pilot for NCIS: New Orleans .
In those episodes, viewers learned that Gibbs and Pride worked together as probationary agents in the early 1990s. Their task force, which later became known as the Fed Five, was assembled to investigate a stolen weapons ring. The team disbanded in 1994, but the case haunted them for decades .
The original NCIS episodes revealed that Dan McLane, their boss on the task force, was later found murdered while serving as a congressman. Gibbs and Pride discovered that McLane had been bribed to look the other way during the original Privileged Killer investigation, a secret that remained buried until his death .
Plot Details: What to Expect in “Feelin’ Alright?”
Episode 11 will focus heavily on the formation of the task force. The official description indicates that Pride comes to the Pendleton office with a history with Gibbs. The two young agents must resolve past tension as they go undercover together on a case involving stolen weapons .
The episode will feature Pride, Gibbs, Franks, Betts, and McLane working together for what appears to be the first time. While the Privileged Killer case may not be directly addressed in this episode, the groundwork is being laid for the eventual tragic events that fans of the mothership show already know are coming .
Mark Harmon continues as the narrator, providing the voice of older Gibbs looking back on these formative experiences .
Connection to the Larger NCIS Universe
This episode represents a significant moment for franchise continuity. It directly ties NCIS: Origins to both the original NCIS series and NCIS: New Orleans.
For fans who watched NCIS: New Orleans, seeing young Pride offers a chance to understand his early career and his complicated history with Gibbs. The two characters shared a strained relationship in the present day of the original series, and this episode will show the roots of that tension .
The casting choices reflect careful attention to canon. Stuart Margolin originally played Felix Betts in NCIS, and Adam Kulbersh steps into those shoes for the prequel. Similarly, Mark Deklin takes on the role of Dan McLane, a character whose death drove significant storylines in both NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans .
Production and Executive Producers
NCIS: Origins is produced by CBS Studios. The executive producer team includes David J. North, Gina Lucita Monreal, Mark Harmon, and Sean Harmon .
The show continues to be filmed in the Los Angeles area, maintaining the visual aesthetic of the early 1990s period setting. The production has received positive attention for its attention to detail in recreating the era before modern forensic technology changed investigative work.
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Looking at the Episode Title
The title “Feelin’ Alright?” may offer clues about the episode’s tone. The song, famously performed by Joe Cocker, is about putting on a brave face while struggling underneath. This fits perfectly with what fans know about both Gibbs and Pride at this stage in their careers. Both young agents are dealing with personal demons while trying to prove themselves professionally.
The episode promises to deliver the procedural case work that NCIS fans love while deepening the character relationships that have sustained the franchise for over two decades.
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Catch up on our detailed recap of NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 10 to refresh your memory before the Fed Five arrive.
