Three years ago, Mark Harmon left NCIS as Gibbs after playing the starring role since 2003. In the meantime, perhaps the biggest mystery surrounding the character has been solved.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the series Last year, a major Hollywood Reporter article appeared in which producers James Whitmore Jr. and Charles Floyd Johnson explained the trick they used to find Gibbs’ “successor.”
NCIS creators cast “new Gibbs” by taking the pressure off
In the article, Whitmore talks again about what a big challenge the Gibbs exit meant:
When Harmon talked about leaving and there was a possibility he wasn’t coming back, I said, ‘How do you replace this guy?’ And they brought in the only person who could, which was Gary Cole (Alden Parker).
Johnson then explained that they were able to get Gary Cole on board for NCIS by casting him not cast as a great Gibbs successor wanted to:
We ended up striking gold with Gary Cole. A lot of names were thrown around. When everyone finally decided that we were going to make an offer to Gary Cole, we didn’t tell him, ‘He was going to be the new Gibbs.’ We told him that he was coming in and that he wasn’t sure if he was going to stay on the team, so he didn’t have to feel like he was stepping into the shoes of someone who had been on the team for 18 seasons.
CBS
Gary Cole as Alden Parker in NCIS
It was publicly communicated from the beginning that Cole’s FBI Special Agent Alden Parker was not to be an official Gibbs replacement. Through his use in the series, the dynamic of the team is said to have changed excitingly after the leadership under Gibbs and loosened been be.
When will the 21st season of NCIS come to Germany?
The 21st season of NCIS aired in the US this year. A German broadcast date has not yet been set. The new episodes are expected to start airing here this summer. You can already stream the entire 20th season in Germany.
Podcast: The 15 best series launches in July on Netflix, Amazon and Co.
Do you need more fresh streaming tips? We present the most exciting series in July that Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Co. have to offer in the monthly overview:
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The 15 series highlights in July include gladiator fights on Amazon Prime as well as Netflix’s hotly anticipated return of the final season of Cobra Kai. Natalie Portman is also getting her own series and Grey’s Anatomy is back.