NCIS Successfully Replaced Gibbs. Here’s How They Did It.

Published: November 21, 2024

NCIS Successfully Replaced Gibbs. Here’s How They Did It.

By Movieguide® Contributor

Though Mark Harmon’s departure from NCIS could easily have killed the show, it is still popular three seasons later, a success attributed to how the show writers transitioned from Leroy Gibbs to Alden Parker.

Gary Cole, who plays Agent Parker on the show, explained how the transition to him as the leader of the team was smoothly done so he was gradually introduced to the audience rather than all at once.

“Mark, I guess, wanted to leave, and when that was discussed or came up, and I don’t know when it actually came up, it came up somewhere between season 18 and 19, they weren’t sure what they were going to do there,” Cole told Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo on their “Off Duty” podcast. “There was talk that they would just end it.”

“From what I heard…I don’t know why [Harmon] would be surprised by that because it could have been a possibility. But then he agreed to begin the 19th year and do four shows while they brought in this other character,” Cole continued. “And I think the way they did it was smart, because rather than him leaving and then one day there’s a knock on the door. ‘Hi, I’m the new guy.’ We did shows together involved in the same case. He worked for the FBI and they were working in tandem and they had conflict and all.”

In the three seasons since Gibb’s departure, Parker has become strong leader for the NCIS team, though his methods are different that his predecessors. This was also done on purpose as Agent Parker was never meant to be a one-for-one replacement of Gibbs.

“[Executive producer Mark] Horowitz said something which made sense, I guess, in a broad way, which was that if [Harmon] was the stern father that everybody was afraid of and/or trying to please, this guy was the crazy uncle or just the whoever that even though he’s got the title of leader of the team, he’s only using the authority when it’s necessary or just for coordination,” Cole explained. “Otherwise, he’s just another guy in the room trying to relate to everybody that’s around him. And that’s how I went at it.”

Thankfully for NCIS fans, everything worked out in the end and the show is still going strong. After an emotional finale last spring, the show is back and working through Season 22.

CBS has yet to renew the series for Season 23, but Screen Rant says it’s unlikely to get canceled.

“22 seasons (so far) on the air puts NCIS in the upper echelon of longest-running scripted shows of all time, and CBS wouldn’t put it out to pasture without making a big deal of its final season,” the outlet said.

In the meantime, you can catch NCIS on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.