Curious World Staff
NCIS star Mark Harmon left the show in Season 19, Episode 4 “Great Wide Open” last fall. Prior to his departure, Harmon had played Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the show JAG since 2003, when the character was first introduced.
Harmon is NCIS for many fans, and vice versa. Many hoped he’d return, especially since he remained in the opening credits throughout Season 19. However, CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl has stated that they are considering making Harmon’s departure permanent in season 20.
CBS president says the network’might consider’ making Mark Harmon’s departure from ‘NCIS’ permanent
During season 19, there were many changes at NCIS. In addition to Harmon’s unexpected departure in episode 4, the series welcomed two new regular cast members: Gary Cole’s Agent Alden Parker and Katrina Law’s Agent Jessica Knight.
Cole’s character essentially replaced Gibbs, but Harmon remained the main character in the opening credits throughout season 19. He has also remained on the show as an executive producer.
Harmon’s continued presence in the opening credits, according to CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl, occurred because season 19 was a “transition year.” With the renewal of NCIS for season 20, Kahl told TVLine that removing Harmon from the opening is “something we might look at going forward.”
There are currently ‘no plans’ for Mark Harmon to return.
There are currently “no plans” for Harmon to return to NCIS as Gibbs, according to Kahl. However, this could easily change in the coming seasons.
“Everyone knows the door is open if he ever wants to pop in for an episode, or multiple episodes,” Kahl said.
Executive producer Steven D. Binder agreed, telling TV Insider, “there’s always headspace for [Harmon] to come back.”
“I think it just has to be the right story to get him excited about it and get us excited about it,” Binder said. “It’s a playable card, and I don’t think we want to play it cheaply.” I believe that when we do play it, we must do the right thing.”
This summer, the ‘NCIS’ showrunner will make a decision on the opening credits
Binder also addressed the possibility of Harmon remaining in the opening credits for the duration of the series, similar to how David McCallum (Ducky Mallard) appears in a handful of episodes each season. That decision, however, has yet to be made.
“Those are issues that we haven’t resolved yet, so the answer is that we’ll have to wait and see.” That was due to the fact that, while the season had ended and Mark would not have appeared in any more episodes, that was not a decided thing, so he remained in the credits because we didn’t k1ll him,” Binder explained.
“I’ll have a more definitive answer once we have to build the title sequence, which is really our deadline, and we don’t do that until July or August.”
Related News – Be sure to get some more news when it comes to NCIS.