NCIS: Origins’ Tyla Abercrumbie Talks Mary Jo’s Shocking Romance, Moving Forward & Navigating ’90s Sexism

IF you’re anything like me, you’re still reeling from the latest revelation about Mary Jo.

Not only did NCIS: Origins deliver one of the most unexpected but delightful romances, but we had an hour that truly reaffirmed just how integral Mary Jo is to NCIS professionally and personally.

And we had the absolute pleasure of catching up with the beautiful and talented Tyla Abercrumbie to discuss all things Mary Jo.

What was your immediate reaction when you read the script and saw that Mary Jo and Dalton reveal? I was shocked!

Yes, I was shocked. I was like, ” Oh, okay. Well, you know, she’s single, so single and ready to mingle.” That’s how I felt when, around episode two, the writers, David North, Gina, and Lucita Morales, revealed to me that she would have a relationship with Dalton Basement.

And I was like, “Well, now I would not have seen that coming, but okay, let’s do that!” And I said to them, “This is going to be such a surprise for everyone. I’m with it, let’s do it!”

My jaw dropped, not Dalton Basement! But they rizzed him up the entire episode. And I said, “I feel it now, I get it.”

I was actually shocked. [Laughs]

Of course, the last time we got a glimpse into Mary Jo’s background, there was so much heaviness. How important was it to show her finding a bit of light and happiness outside of the NIS walls?

Well, I think it’s very important. I want to see more of it and not just with Dalton Basement.

I say that because when someone’s been married for a very long time — and we did get that weighted, season one episode with her where she has lost several children — the idea of her still being married even though they haven’t been together for years indicates that this is a person who may be living her life, but she’s still sort of stuck.

So I was really excited to have her move on and have a relationship and show women that you don’t just let your whole sexual self go because that marriage didn’t work out, or you didn’t get to have the children or the future that you planned. Because life is that way.

What do they say? Best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, or make a plan and watch God twist it around. It’s really important that we see her moving on.

Yes, you addressed my next question a bit. I was curious what it was about Dalton that prompted Mary Jo to finally open up her heart again.

I had to answer that for myself because the show is an hour long, so it isn’t about Mary Jo and her escapades. And so, for me, it was important that she move forward. Maybe it’s been a while since she paid attention to someone flirting with her.

Maybe she’s used this time to really learn who she is.

In 2026, we see women saying, “I’m good, honey, I don’t need all that. We can live in separate houses, sleep in separate bedrooms.” In the 90s, we were still very much tied to what it meant to be married, be in a relationship, and all of that.

It was important to see her choose for herself to say,” I’m gonna give this a shot. Let me see.”

Sometimes, one of the worst things you can do is be too good at your job. And Mary Jo is great at hers. Which almost led to her getting poached. Can you talk a bit about that?

You have Mary Jo, who is very good at her job, and someone else comes along and decides they have the power and ability to say, “Okay, we want her for our office.” And it’s just that simple. But how do you say no and keep a job?

It almost feels like choice is taken away from you when you’re in that situation. And we know now that people leave companies all the time, are downsized, or whatever.

But this particular person wants her to work in his department not only because she’s good, but also so he can be inappropriate. It’s nasty and ugly. And even the way we have to handle him is just offensive to women, period. And I like the way the series handles that.

We can’t just smack him in the face, tell him he’s inappropriate, kick his butt, send him down a flight of stairs, and take his pension. We can’t just do that. And this is a military base, and it’s all government.

There are these steps you have to go through. And so we have to handle it delicately, which, as women, we’re always like, “Why do we have to handle my wrong treatment delicately?”

I thought they did a really nice job at trying to figure out how to handle this and coming up with the solution that really fit the time period.

Because I think when you’re in 2026, you want things to happen as they can happen. You’re canceled. You know, that’s how our world is today.

You do it, you’re canceled. But in ’92, that was not the case. So I really thought that how it was handled was not only appropriate but also a reflection of the time.

Yes absolutely. I even appreciate how that dovetails into things with Wheeler. He’s a queer man navigating a system with a similar hypervigilance.

He was clever in knowing exactly how to approach the situation delicately and effectively, in a way he might not have been able to if he also wasn’t a bit of a disenfranchised party during that time period.

The show is so layered, and they’d definitely handle that whole situation well. Sorry, I love NCIS: Origins, I really do.

Thank you!

Viewers often feel like others take Mary Jo for granted a bit, but in this episode, everyone rallied around “not our Mary Jo.” How do you think it was for her to be reaffirmed so openly during this episode?

I really believe that anytime people are affirmed, it feels good because you do. People take each other for granted all the time. And when it’s in your workplace, you almost tell yourself, “Well, they’re not here to love me. I am here to do a job.”

The fact that I do my job well speaks to my character, my integrity. But when you have people stop and say, “Oh no, we can’t lose this person. She’s very important to us.”

“Beyond her work, she’s important to us. We’re not; it’s not like we can’t get somebody else to file, make phone calls, and all of that. She matters; she’s part of our team.”

When that’s reaffirmed in any capacity, I think it feels good. You have even more pride in it because you know you’re doing it for people who really appreciate it. And I think that gets lost sometimes — telling someone that.

You’re forced into a situation like this where now you’ve got to do something because if this is family, you’ve got to fight for family.

I love how each character does it in their very distinct way. Mike couldn’t just come right out and say it, but she still says, “I hear what you’re not saying, and I love you.“

Right, right. Yeah, there were just such great little character moments in this episode.

Mary Jo also got to be more involved in an investigation, which was different for her. How was it playing that angle a bit?

Well, it was fun. I’ve asked that many times. I was like, “I want to be involved in a caper!”

I was really pleased to see that they gave me that in the episode. It explains the very first line Mary Jo says in season one, “Welcome to the nuthouse, sweetie.” And, Randy says, “Mary Jo knows where the bodies are buried.” Mary Jo connects the dots. This isn’t a person just sitting at the desk.

She is involved. She’s not out there with a gun chasing down people. Although I’m always like, “When’s Mary Jo going to get a gun?” [Laughs]

But she’s not out there chasing down the bad guys, handcuffing them, or questioning them in the interrogation room. But she is very much engaged in solving the cases. And I really love the way they layered that into the story.

And it was fun to do.

It was fun to watch, absolutely. As you said, it’s a time period where there’s such rampant sexism.

And yet the series subverts it in cool ways. I love that the most valuable person in this entire organization is a woman, an office manager, and “secretary.” It’s also so refreshing to see Mary Jo, especially as a Black woman, leaning into that femininity so boldly.

Absolutely. And you get to see that little part of her past that tells you this woman has lips. I’m glad they don’t make the character disappear into very small, simple tasks, you know?

What can you tease for what’s coming up this season? It’s been a crazy season. Do you have any juicy teases for me?

I would say if you sit back and keep your mind open to surprise, there’ll be big ones. You won’t be disappointed.

I doubt I ever could be. I’m so glad you guys got picked up for another season.

Yay, me too. Thank you so much.

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NCIS: Origins airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS. You can stream on Paramount+.

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