NCIS season 19 has just seen the departure of team leader Leroy Gibbs, and some fans have already determined that if the action-packed drama returns without the renowned Special Agent at the helm, they will not watch.
After nearly two decades as the face of CBS’s long-running cr1me series, Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon) finally stepped down last week. The show’s 20th season has yet to be confirmed, but the show’s latest Instagram poster elicited passionate reactions from viewers who stated they will not be tuning in now that the ex-agent has left the series.
Last Monday’s episode, Great Wide Open, featured Harmon’s final appearance as Gibbs.
Gibbs decided he was too old to be an agent after one more mission with Agent Tim McGee (Sean Murray) and stayed in Alaska.
McGee, Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), and Knight (Katrina Law) returned for another case on Monday night, one of the first episodes without Gibbs in the spotlight.
The show’s official Instagram account announced their latest case, Face the Strange, with a first-look image.
Unfortunately, many fans were still suffering over Gibbs’ abrupt departure last week and took to the comments section to air their frustrations with the show.
“NCIS is Mark Harmon’s show, and it won’t be the same without him,” IG user tran.khuong1981 said.
And inkaa1966 put it succinctly: “No Gibbs, no NCIS.”
“Please tell me this new FBI agent isn’t going to be a permanent fixture in the program,” i am mr. incredible commented. I’m going to have to quit watching.”
Newcomer FBI Agent Alden Park (Gary Cole) appears to be a long-term staple to fill the show’s Gibbs-shaped void.
Many viewers thought the Emmy-nominated TV and film actress was a good replacement for the long-serving chief agent.
“Gary Cole is an FABULOUS leader,” Romaniak406 stated.
“It appears I am in the minority,” they noted in a subsequent reply. “Gary Cole is without a doubt the greatest choice to replace Gibbs.”
Unfortunately, not everyone was convinced that the show’s potential replacement was up to the task.
“What the hell is going on?” raged user 1soproni. Without Hondo, what is SWAT? What is NCIS without Gibbs? “What comes next?”
“I just can’t watch it without Gibbs!” Alanenmaggie said.
Finally, joelong579 stated, “No, the program is over without Gibbs.”
Showrunner Steven D. Binder has yet to declare whether Park will be a permanent member of the crew in the future.
With Gibbs’ departure, there’s a good probability NCIS won’t return for its milestone 20th season when the current run concludes next spring.
Thankfully, long-running spin-offs NCIS: Los Angeles and the new NCIS: Hawaii are still going strong, so the franchise will be around for a long time.
Related News – Be sure to get some more news when it comes to NCIS.
If Leroy Gibbs goes the whole show will go with it