Mark Harmon Finally Returning To NCIS? Fellow Star Drops A Big Hint
Mark Harmon's NCIS co-star Rocky Carroll is certain the procedural series will see the beloved character return at least "one more time."
Since he made his final appearance at the tail end of Season 19, fans of Mark Harmon’s NCIS character, Leroy Gibbs, have been eager to see if the procedural show’s writers would find a way to reincorporate him into the storyline — if even for a guest appearance. After enthusiasm led to disappointment following the rumors that the series would bring the beloved character back for the show’s 450th episode, with no sighting of the beloved character whatsoever, fans are wondering if they’ll ever see the special agent again. According to Movieguide, there’s a high percentage chance that Harmon will reprise his role, as NCIS showrunner Steven D. Binder seems dead-set on his return with co-star Rocky Carroll revealing that there’s a major likelihood that Gibbs will come back.
Carroll, who co-starred alongside Mark Harmon on NCIS as Leon Vance, said that because Gibbs is held in such high regard by the other characters, there’s no doubt in his mind that the agent will be spotted again. “I think as long as this show stays on the air, there will always be a little bit of a tease that we might see Gibbs again,” Carroll said. Further giving hope to the return of the beloved character, Carroll added, “I don’t see how we don’t see him one more time at one point.”
Piggybacking on Carroll’s sentiments, Binder certainly wants to deliver on getting Mark Harmon back into the drama of NCIS. But, he wants to be sure it’s done in the right way. As audiences will know, fans of the long-running CBS series bid adieu to the character, who appeared on the project for a whopping 19 years, in the most pleasant way possible: enjoying a quiet and peaceful life in Anchorage, Alaska following the wrap of a tough case.
Noting that the character is simply just chilling on a “higher plane of existence” and that the audience last saw him “smiling on a river happy,” Binder wants to make sure the team finds the perfect reason to reincorporate Gibbs into the story. As for how that could be, Binder teases that Mark Harmon’s reprisal of NCIS’ ex-protagonist could be for either good or bad reasons. In his statement, Binder revealed that, for now, the plan is to either “truly embrace” Gibbs’ new low-stress lifestyle or to go in the opposite direction and “blow that out of the water.”
It’s been a major year for NCIS and all of its spin-offs, with characters from the Hawai’i, Washington, and Los Angeles branches all meeting together for a major crossover event back in early January. Marking another major milestone, the cast and crew of the original series are sure to be busting out the champagne and toasting to 20 years of solving crimes and driving up viewership numbers for The Big Bang Theory‘s home network. And, while audiences were sad to see Mark Harmon step down from his post just shy of the 20th anniversary, they can still catch his personal vision for NCIS, as the actor has taken a more behind-the-scenes role as an executive producer.
The major reveal made by not only Mark Harmon’s co-star, but also the NCIS showrunner is a step in the right direction for fans eager to see the return of Leroy Gibbs. And, while we’re happy that the hardworking agent is enjoying his retirement life in the beautiful and tranquil state of Alaska, we certainly would love to see him make his way back in the future — if even for just one more case.
