Mark Harmon’s NCIS Exit Explained: What Happened To Gibbs?

Special Agent In Charge Leroy Jethro Gibbs was the face of NCIS since its inception in 2003, leading many fans to wonder why actor Mark Harmon left NCIS in season 19. While Harmon continued to serve as an Executive Producer despite Gibbs’ absence from the show, his character remained out of the picture. NCIS is CBS’ longest-running scripted primetime series, following the lives and adventures of the federal special agents responsible for investigating felony military crimes, preventing terrorism, and protecting secrets for the Navy and Marine Corps.

Created by Don McGill and prolific creator-producer Donald P. Bellisario (Magnum P.I., Quantum Leap, Airwolf), NCIS has featured many significant cast departures over its storied history, including original characters like Tony, Abbey, Kate, and even Kate’s replacement of Ziva. However, no exit was as impactful as Harmon’s. CBS is no stranger to replacing leading faces on their series, and NCIS somehow survived without Agent Gibbs, with Gary Cole stepping into the role as the team leader. Harmon’s departure came early in season 19, leaving CBS with plenty of time to see if the show could work without him.

How Gibbs’ Final NCIS Storyline Played Out

Gibbs Broke The Law To Stop A Killer

When Gibbs left the NCIS franchise in storyline terms, his last case had been long in the making. In Harmon’s penultimate episode, the team discovered the murders they thought were perpetrated by a serial killer were actually at the hands of a hired hitman (Jason Wiles). After ditching FBI Agent Alden Parker (Gary Cole), Gibbs took the hitman where he wanted to go in exchange for information. The killer blew himself up, but only after revealing he was responsible for destroying Gibbs’ boat, and not before telling Gibbs who hired him.

Gibbs traveled to Naktok, Alaska, where the investigation led him to Sonova Industries, whose pending copper mining project threatened to wreck the area. After learning Sonova’s CEO, Sonia Eberhart (Valarie Pettiford), hired the hitman to kill everyone who might disclose details of the environmental damage the mine would cause, Gibbs and the NCIS team closed in on evidence to put her away for the death of the journalist investigating it.

Why Gibbs Decided To Leave NCIS

Gibbs Finally Found Happiness For The First Time Since His Wife & Daughter’s Deaths

The NCIS episode features key moments between Gibbs and his team, including Nick Torres, Timothy McGee, and Ducky Mallard. The team moments are interspersed throughout the episode, clearly foreshadowing Gibbs’ departure. The fact that he dumped the phone he’d carried for so long inside a coffee mug before leaving indicates he wouldn’t need it after this case. However, Gibbs’ plan wasn’t to retire. After ditching the FBI and helping the hitman get to where he wanted to die, Gibbs had broken the law.

He intended to serve time for his crime — he even told Parker where to find him. That was not the way that Gibbs’s time on NCIS would end. He didn’t deserve that fate, so after Parker saw all the good Gibbs had done, he disobeyed orders to arrest him, which cost him his job. Gibbs decided to remain there because he had found peace. It was the first peace he’d felt since the deaths of his wife and daughter, and he wasn’t willing to let that feeling go.

Why Mark Harmon Left NCIS After 18 Seasons

Mark Harmon Says He Was Tired & Wanted To Work Less

Mark Harmon was ready to move on after NCIS season 18. He negotiated a limited appearance at the top of season 19 to ensure the series’s renewal, but Harmon exited as Gibbs in NCIS season 19. As a producer and long-time veteran of the franchise, he’s invested in the series’ future.

Vacating early at the top of a season instead of leaving at the end of another gave NCIS the best shot at being renewed. NCIS had time to prove it could keep an audience without Harmon. Since the FBI fired Agent Parker for helping Gibbs, he found a job waiting for him at NCIS. Mark Harmon explained his departure in an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show:

“I think for the longest time, I was just tired. Part of taking the job [involved] being home, with a young family, not traveling so much doing movies. The first day, we worked 22 hours. So I thought, ‘That’s not exactly what I thought this was going to be.’ But we had a lot of days like that in the first four years.”

Could Gibbs Return To NCIS?

Showrunner Steve Binder Has Left The Door Open

Mark Harmon’s iconic character wanted to retire to the quiet life instead of dying in a heroic blaze of glory, so the door remains open for a possible future return. Showrunner Steve Binder said as much in a statement released the night of Harmon’s departure (via Instagram):

As an executive producer and dear friend, Mark continues to be an integral part of the fabric of the show … Our north star has always been staying true to our characters, and that truth has always guided the stories we tell and where those characters go. So regarding the future of Gibbs, as long-time fans of the show may have noticed over the years…never count Leroy Jethro Gibbs out.

NCIS Survived After Mark Harmon’s Exit

Gary Cole Helped Fill In The Gap After Gibbs Left

NCIS survived even though Mark Harmon left the CBS military police procedural series. Despite the growing ensemble, Gibbs has been the show’s main character, and audiences have grown to know and love the character over the many years that NCIS has been on the air. However, plenty of other shows have lost their main character and managed to fight on for a few more seasons. NCIS season 19’s ratings were a central factor in determining whether viewers could cope without Gibbs on the show.

This caution is why Mark Harmon left NCIS at the beginning of the season: to test whether the series could function without him. The TV show has gotten rid of various fan-favorite characters in the past, so audiences are at least used to NCIS characters’ exits at this point. However, the loss of Gibbs was one of the most prominent character losses that NCIS viewers ever faced. Luckily, Agent Parker helped fill the enormous hole that Gibbs’s exit from the show left behind.

Mark Harmon’s Thoughts On Leaving NCIS

Mark Harmon Said He Could Always Return If Needed

A year after Gibbs left, Mark Harmon discussed the reasons for exiting NCIS and what he hoped to accomplish with the long-running show in his rearview mirror. The comments came on the DVD release of season 19, where Harmon talked about Gibbs’ legacy on both the show and the overall NCIS franchise. According to the actor, after 18 seasons of working almost exclusively as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, he wanted to tackle “fresh” and “challenging” material, something he couldn’t do with the NCIS schedule.

However, he also left the door open with some good news. Harmon said on the DVD feature that Gibbs is not “retired” as a character, which means he can return to the show for special appearances. “The character is living in Alaska as far as I know. Plot-wise, this character has taken the path that it did. I thought it was honest.” While Gibbs has not returned, he has also not been forgotten. Harmon might not be on NCIS, but the show is keeping Gibbs’ memory alive.

What Mark Harmon Has Done Since Leaving NCIS

Freaky Friday, NCIS: Origins, & His Author Debut

Mark Harmon took a lot of time off from acting after leaving NCIS. While he said he wanted to tackle fresh and challenging material, he took an extended break to refresh and recharge. He did something outside of acting when he collaborated with retired NCIS Special Agent Leon Carroll Jr. to write a book called Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, a Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor. Harmon also narrated the audiobook.

However, that time has ended, and Harmon is filling his schedule with intriguing new projects. In 2025, Harmon will appear in his first movie role since 2010, when he reprises the character of Ryan in Freaky Friday 2. He played Jamie Lee Curtis’s fiancé in the original movie in 2003 and will (assumingly) return as her husband in the sequel. While that is fun for longtime fans, the more exciting news for Gibbs fans is that Harmon is returning for NCIS: Origins.

Harmon’s NCIS: Origins Role Explained (& What It Means For His Future As Gibbs)

Harmon Returns In The NCIS Prequel

Austin Stowell plays a younger version of Gibbs in the NCIS prequel NCIS: Origins. However, that doesn’t mean that original actor Mark Harmon isn’t involved with the show (which serves as the sixth installment in the NCIS franchise). In fact, Harmon is an executive producer and narrates the military police procedural series.

The actor even makes a cameo as the older Gibbs in the two-part premiere of NCIS: Origins, “Enter Sandman,” on CBS. The NCIS: Origins episodes show Harmon’s Gibbs still in Alaska after his exit from NCIS, reminiscing about his early days with the Naval Investigative Service via writing his thoughts in a journal.

Since Harmon appears in the premiere of the NCIS prequel, many wonder if that means there is a chance he will return to the original series or other NCIS spinoffs. Unfortunately, nothing regarding that matter has been announced by CBS or producers. While Harmon isn’t set to reprise his role in NCIS, he will reportedly continue to appear in the prequel following his cameo during the first two episodes. Harmon was seemingly only supposed to be in the first couple of episodes, but the actor’s role might be expanded as the rest of NCIS: Origins season 1 plays out.

What Would A Gibbs Return To NCIS Look Like?

Mark Harmon Said He Could Always Return If Needed

It has been over three years since Mark Harmon left NCIS and the show has proven it can survive without Gibbs as part of the team. However, with such a beloved character whose story is still open to the possibility of him returning, there is always the lingering question of whether audiences will see Gibbs again in a meaningful way. While it is great to see his appearance in NCIS: Origins to let fans know he is alive and doing well, there are likely a lot of people who would rather see a more substantial return for the character.

Given that Gibbs seems to be at peace in his Alaskan life, it would have to be something powerful to drag him back into the field and put him on another case after so long. A run-of-the-mill situation would not do, so perhaps putting one of his former colleagues in danger or sending Gibbs on a mission of revenge would be a suitable route for the show to take if they were looking to bring back the beloved character.

However, the new prequel series could be the perfect answer for bringing Gibbs back. As seen in Harmon’s appearance in the new series suggests, the show sees Gibbs looking back at his cases from the past. This could make for a terrific way to tie NCIS: Origins together with NCIS in a crossover episode. A case that Gibbs dealt with in the past could be reopened in some dramatic way, leading him to return to settle the unfinished business. It would be a fun connecting of the franchise and serve for a triumphant return of Gibbs in a major storyline.

NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team forced to work together in high-stress situations. Special Agent Alden Parker, a quirky former FBI agent who solves his cases with calm professionalism and sharp, sarcastic charm, leads the NCIS team, which includes NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee, an MIT graduate with a knack for computers who has now graduated to senior field agent; the charismatic, unpredictable and resilient NCIS Special Agent Nicholas “Nick” Torres, who has spent most of his career on solo undercover assignments; and sharp, athletic and tough NCIS Special Agent Jessica Knight, a formidable REACT agent who specializes in hostage negotiations and high-risk operations. The naïve Jimmy Palmer is assisting the team, who graduated from assistant to fully licensed medical examiner and now runs the morgue; and forensic scientist Kasie Hines, Ducky’s former graduate assistant. Overseeing operations is NCIS Director Leon Vance, an intelligent, highly trained agent who can always be counted on to shake up the status quo. From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, these special agents investigate all crimes with Navy or Marine Corps ties.

Cast

Sean Murray , Wilmer Valderrama , Katrina Law , Brian Dietzen , David McCallum , Mark Harmon , Rocky Carroll , Gary Cole , Joe Spano

Release Date

September 23, 2003

Seasons

22

Showrunner

Donald P. Bellisario

Sources: The Kelly Clarkson Show, Instagram