A main character who leaves his series after 19 years of good and loyal service: this is what happened to “NCIS”. And the departure of Mark Harmon was a shock as much for the public as for the production.
For 19 years, Mark Harmon played Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS. As a headliner, he was indispensable to fans and the show. His departure in season 19, marking the show’s fifth major departure, didn’t just leave audiences in shock: in fact, producers were also perplexed.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the series, producer Charles Floyd Johnson spoke on the subject.
We thought that was the end of the series. Coming in at 6:30 in the morning, five days a week, and being the main character who was a mainstay – that’s pretty tough and he did it for 18 seasons. He was approaching 70 and he wanted to spend time with [sa femme] Pam [Dawber] and his children.
He went on to clarify that the actor had started talking about his departure around the 15th or 16th season: “But he was so loyal to that team and so supportive of the show. He was very proud of it and he stayed longer than expected.”
“HOW ARE THEY GOING TO REPLACE THIS GUY?”
Director James Whitmore Jr. had similar thoughts and wondered who might replace the show’s iconic figure. “When Harmon was talking about leaving and there was a chance he wouldn’t come back, I asked, ‘How are they going to replace this guy?’ And they brought in the only guy who could do it, Gary Cole.”
CBS Mark Harmon and Gary Cole in “NCIS”
Gary Cole (in the role of Alden Parker) has indeed become the main character of the show and their fears have been erased: NCIS is still active and the series has no end in sight. NCIS is perhaps one of the most resilient shows of all time for still being relevant despite the departures of all the actors from its original main cast, except one!
Indeed, Sasha Alexander (Caitlin Todd) left the series during season 2, Cote De Pablo (Ziva David) during season 10, Michael Weatherly (Anthony DiNozzo) during season 13 and Pauley Perrette (Abby Sciuto) during season 15. Only Sean Murray in the role of Timothy McGee still remains in the series which still has a bright future ahead of it.
NCIS: Special Investigations is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.