Summary
NCIShas been a big hit for CBS since the pilot episode aired in September 2003 and features many well-crafted characters, includingcharming and likableSpecial Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon). LikeThe Rookieseason 7andChicago P.D.season 12,NCISis still as thrilling as the beginning of the series.
While fans loved watching Gibbs solve mysteries and motivate the people around him, he sadly left the show, and viewers have missed him. There’s a reason why another character took Gibbs’s place onNCIS, but thankfully,Gibbs’s final episode was moving and perfect.
Why Was Gibbs Replaced On NCIS?
Leory Gibbs was replaced onNCISbecauseMark Harmon decided to leave the series. According toSoaps.sheknows.com, Harmon explained during theNCISseason 19 DVD special feature that he left because hewanted his acting career to feel “fresh.“He said:
“What has always drawn me here is the character I play and to keep it fresh and to keep it challenging. Plot-wise, this character has taken the path that it did. I thought it was honest and OK with.”
In 2024,Harmon appeared onThe Kelly Clarkson Showand talked about the busy schedule he had when playing Gibbs onNCIS. The actor said:
“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.”
Gibbs was replaced byFBI Special Agent Alden Parker (Gary Cole) in season 19. Like other procedurals such asChicago P.D.,The Rookie, andRyan Murphy’s popular series9-1-1, a lot of characters come and go onNCIS, and many of them leave a big impression on viewers.
Parker first appears in season 19, episode 2, “Nearly Departed,” and from that moment on, Parker’s character is similar to Gibbs’s. Parker is a tough, experienced, and quick-thinking agent who tries to inspire others to work hard but doesn’t suffer fools. Of course, since Gibbs was such a big part of why fans tuned intoNCISfor almost 20 seasons, his shoes hard to fill. However, Cole does a great job playingthe gruff and blunt but ultimately caring character. Both Parker and Gibbs are as smart and likable as the main characters likeJohn Nolan (Nathan Fillion) onThe Rookie.
What Was Gibbs’s Final NCIS Episode?
Leory Gibbs’s lastNCISepisode isseason 19, episode 4, “The Great Wide Open.“After working on a case in Naktok Bay, Alaska with Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) to stop a copper mine, Gibbs thinks carefully and realizes that he loves the quiet pace of life in that small town.Gibbs stays in Alaska and thinks about his wife Shannonand daughter Kelly, who died in a car accident because of Pedro Hernandez. These deaths are as tragicas Nadia Decotis’s (Stella Maeve) onChicago P.D.It’s awful that Gibbs has to live without his family, and while no one can ever replace them,NCISfans know that he is starting to heal in Alaska.
While it can also be sad for an actor to leave one of their long-running characters behind, it sounds like Harmon was happy with the end of Gibbs’s time onNCIS.Harmon also narrates the prequelNCIS: Origins, which premiered in September 2024, and also made a cameo appearance in the series premiere. Like theDexterprequel seriesDexter: Original Sin,NCIS: Originstells a new story about a beloved character. The seriesfollows a young Gibbs (Austin Stowell) as he starts his exciting career.
