Things might be looking very, very different at the NCIS mothership come Fall. The show, which has spanned another long-running show in NCIS: Los Angeles, and has another spin-off on the way in NCIS: Hawaii, might be looking at a prolonged Gibbs-less season 19. TVLine reported that Mark Harmon, who has been the linchpin of the show since the beginning, is looking to have a very limited presence in season 19.
Fans will, of course, remember that the show set this up at the end of season 18 by seemingly “killing off” Gibbs, though even then, it was made clear before the end that Gibbs wasn’t actually dead, as despite the fact that his boat blew up, he was clearly seen swimming away. But no one really expected Gibbs to be absent for most of the season, for many, many reasons, particularly because, at this point, NCIS and Harmon basically seem like a package deal. Big actors have left NCIS, but Harmon has remained, and despite the show going onto season 19, fans are still interested in the character.
Harmon has been vocal about his desire to remain on NCIS and play the role of Gibbs for as long as possible, which is why this news comes as such a gut-punch to fans. It isn’t exactly a surprise, though, especially as Variety reported a few days ago that Gary Cole was in talks for a major season 19 role.
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