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NCIS fans can’t wait to hear more about season 21 — though, of course, they miss Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Harmon left the series in season 19. There have been various reasons for his departure, and he opened up about his choice in late 2023. Here’s what he said about feeling “tired” after the show.

Mark Harmon said he was ‘just tired’ after finishing his tenure with ‘NCIS’

Mark Harmon stood firm with NCIS since its premiere in 2003. The show creators weren’t sure they could get Harmon on board at first, so they made alternative plans if he didn’t accept their offer. Thankfully, Harmon was ready to join the team as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He made a tremendous impact on the military police procedural.

So, why did Harmon call it quits on the show? At the time, he hoped to focus on other creative endeavors and his family. In November 2023, he said he was “tired” after many years with NCIS.

“I think for the longest time, I was just tired,” Harmon told Kelly Clarkson on The Kelly Clarkson Show when asked if he misses his time on the series. “Originally, part of it, taking the job, being home for a young family, not traveling as much, doing movies and whatever, the first day, we worked 22 hours. So, I thought, ‘That’s not exactly what I thought this was going to be.’ We had a lot of days like that in the first four years.”

“So, that it’s become the success it’s become, that’s great,” Harmon continued. “To be part of that is great. You know, writers change, runners change, casts change, all that. And I always try to pay attention to that, and daily, tried to do what my title says, which is, read ahead, and note ahead, and do all those kinds of things. And it’s a lot, you know?”

An executive producer said there’s ‘always’ room to welcome Mark Harmon back

'NCIS' star Mark Harmon looking serious while sitting in a room in the show
‘NCIS’ star Mark Harmon | Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images
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Mark Harmon noted the grueling hours he worked on the NCIS set. At 72 years old, he’s likely less willing to work those hours. But if he ever wants to appear in the series, executive producer Steven D. Binder says they’d welcome him back with open arms.

“There’s always head space for him to come back,” Binder told TV Insider in May 2022. “It just has to be the right story, I think, to get him excited about it and to get us excited about it. It’s a card to play, and I don’t think we want to play it cheaply. I think when we do play it, it really needs to be the right thing.”

Binder noted that the set still feels Harmon’s presence. “Gibbs put his stamp on the team in a huge way, and it’s gonna take more than a year for that to fade,” he said at the time. “I wouldn’t want it to fade because if I can’t have Gibbs, I still love having his presence in there.”

Could Leroy Jethro Gibbs return for ‘NCIS’ Season 21?

NCIS Season 21 returns on Feb. 12, 2024. While fans would love to see Mark Harmon rejoin the series, we doubt Leroy Jethro Gibbs will be back in full force. However, there’s always the chance that Harmon could make a cameo appearance as his beloved character. But Harmon doesn’t seem to know of any plans to bring him back.

“He’s probably sitting in a stream up in Alaska fishing,” Harmon told Entertainment Tonight about Gibbs now. “Is he going to get out of the stream? I don’t know. But if he is, I don’t know about it.”

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