Even though at least one producer thought that Mark Harmon’s exit would doom NCIS, the CBS drama has continued to dominate broadcast TV in the subsequent years since Leroy Gibbs decided to make Alaska his new home. But not even McGee’s growing role or the addition of Gary Cole and others have stopped fans from wondering if and when Harmon could return for one or more appearances. Now, the former lead has at last addressed the issue himself, and he dropped a somewhat surprising detail in the process.
To be sure, both Mark Harmon and Leroy Gibbs will once again be part of the NCIS franchise as part of the 2024 TV schedule, just not through the long-running flagship drama. Harmon will be providing narration duties as Gibbs for the upcoming spinoff prequel NCIS: Origins, which he was on hand to promote during a Television Critics Association winter tour panel (via TVLine). He addressed his exit as being a natural outcome, and not decision that was hammered down from the outset.
And while he also stated he loved the way the creative team handled Gibbs’ final (for now) outing, he’s as aware as anyone that his character’s possible return is a constant topic. When asked about exactly that during the panel, he answered with:
I have been asked that a lot... I’ve always let the writers do what they want to do.
That answer is about what one would expect from Mark Harmon, who obviously doesn’t want to break the fandom’s collective heart by saying he won’t return. He also presumably doesn’t want to make it sound as if he has the final say in the matter, even though one might think his role as an executive producer would allow him such requests.
When speaking to journalists after the TCA panel, the Summer School vet perhaps doubled down on that idea, sharing the surprising (at least to me) detail that no one has reached out to him to have any conversations about it. When asked if he'd been contacted about returning in the years since his exited, he responded:
Directly, like a phone call…? Not that I’m aware of.
Now, that answer could potentially mean that someone from the show sent an email to Mark Harmon's publicist or agent, without anything coming out of it. But it definitely doesn't sound like any major attempts were made to secure the actor for Seasons 20 and 21. I guess it's not all that surprising, since it hasn't been that long since he left. But considering how often the topic comes up, and how big this world is getting with both the Origins prequel and the upcoming spinoff NCIS: Tony & Ziva, which will be the franchise's first streaming exclusive, via Paramount+ subscription.
Showrunner Steven D. Binder has talked previously about wanting to leave the image of a contented Gibbs in fans’ minds until the point when a storyline is conceived that 100% earns the right to bring the character out of that peaceful setting. So that perhaps explains why there haven't been any talks with the actor about possibly reprising the role in the future.
But then when asked if he'd be down to pop back up for NCIS' series finale, whenever that may come, Mark Harmon didn't exactly come across as highly enthused about it, saying:
I don’t know. It’s really about feeling like you’re fulfilled with a role, or complete with a role.
That said, if Binder & Co. figure out an A+ story arc that ropes Gibbs back into reteaming with his former colleagues, Harmon may indeed come around to the idea. It's no doubt foolish to hope that he'll be rocking a big burly beard at the time, but I'm still gonna do that just in case.
NCIS: Origins and NCIS proper will arrive with their season debuts on Mondays this fall, following the series premiere of Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr.'s new comedy Poppa's House.
