Mark Harmon opens up about potentially reprising his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in future seasons of NCIS, admitting that he is open to returning.
Mark Harmon is not opposed to returning as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS, but there’s one condition. CBS’ longest-running police procedural has just passed a major milestone, marking its two decades on the air. NCIS season 20 didn’t feature any major cameos, which was contrary to popular theories. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that it won’t be able to bring back some of its notable stars moving forward. After 19 seasons in the procedural, Harmon exited NCIS in 2021. He hasn’t returned since then, but since the character simply walked away from the job, there’s always a chance of him coming back.
In a new interview with ET Online, the actor says he is open to stepping back into his iconic role. However, he adds that if they are planning on bringing Gibbs back, he currently has no idea about it. Read his full quote below:
“He’s probably sitting in a stream up in Alaska fishing. Is he going to get out of the stream? I don’t know. But if he is, I don’t know about it.”
Why Gibbs Needs To Return In NCIS Season 21?
As NCIS season 20 entered its final stretch, Brian Dietzen teased a potential cameo for some of the show’s fan-favorite characters, who have already left the service. Considering the milestone, there were high hopes that it was going to pan out, especially with the likes of Gibbs and Tony DiNozzo. The pair was part of the original crew and seeing them back would have been big for long-time viewers of the project. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Instead, NCIS season 20 focused on its current crew, as none of the aforementioned characters returned.
It’s imperative that Gibbs, in particular, return in NCIS season 21 in light of David McCallum’s death this year. He played Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard — the chief medical examiner at the organization. Like Gibbs and DiNozzo, Ducky was an original cast member, debuting the role in 2003. His history with the team went far beyond the show’s starting point since he was already a long-time friend of Gibbs before the events of the procedural started.
While CBS was able to move forward with NCIS season 20 without him, it’s important that Gibbs returns to honor Ducky in season 21. Assuming that the police procedural will do a tribute episode to the brilliant but bubbling examiner, a big part of it should be seeing the people that he worked closely with during his time in the organization. It doesn’t need to be an extensive appearance, as Gibbs can simply come in and pay tribute to Ducky. Considering their friendship, he could take a few days off from fishing for the sake of his old buddy.