Mark Harmon was the 5th major NCIS exit and the creators felt they wouldn’t be able to recover from it

Over a period of 19 years, Mark Harmon played the lead role of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS. As the leader of the team of agents, he was indispensable for fans and the series. His departure in season 19 not only left the NCIS audience in a state of shock. Producers were also perplexed, as a new report from the Hollywood Reporter on the show’s 20th anniversary shows.

How the NCIS makers reacted to Mark Harmon’s exit

Producer Charles Floyd Johnson remembers the moment he found out about Mark Harmon’s exit:

We thought that [Harmons Ausstieg] means the end of the series. Coming in at 6:30 a.m., five days a week, and being the main character who was the lynchpin. That’s pretty tough, and he did that for 18 seasons.

As director, James Whitmore Jr. is responsible for several series from the NCIS cosmos. He only observed the exit from the outside, but had similar thoughts:

When Harmon talked about leaving the show and there was a chance he wouldn’t come back, I asked myself, “How are they going to replace this guy?”

Gary Cole (as Alden Parker) finally came as a replacement. And the apocalyptic fears turned out to be exaggerated: NCIS is still running and there is no end in sight. Actually, that wasn’t all that surprising. The creators knew the Mark Harmon situation well.

These are the biggest NCIS exits in series history

Mark Harmon’s exit hit the series hard, but not unprepared. NCIS has repeatedly had to compensate for exits of important characters throughout its history. This is just a selection:

What was the reason for Mark Harmon’s exit?

Officially, Mark Harmon wanted to leave the series to spend more time with his family. He also has his career “keep fresh” want. A possible unofficial reason: Abby Sciuto actress Pauley Perrette made serious allegations against Mark Harmon after her own exit. Read more about it here: Mark Harmon’s NCIS exit ultimately explained.

Too much NCIS: Why is German TV so boring?

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We explain why German television was already in a downward spiral of cheap TV and a lack of ideas before Netflix & Co. and why so many people still tune in.