‘NCIS’: Sean Murray Reflects on Mark Harmon’s Exit & Gary Cole Joining Show
What To Know
- Sean Murray joined Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover on the most recent NCIS: Partners & Probies podcast.
- He reflected on the significant cast changes on the show, including when series lead Mark Harmon left.
We may be between seasons of NCIS right now, but fans are still getting content about the show, thanks to the weekly podcast. Series stars Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover host NCIS: Partners & Probies, and the longest-running cast member across the franchise, Sean Murray, appeared in the Tuesday, June 2, episode.
Reasonover brought up how long Murray had been on the show and the changes he’d seen, with cast exits. She asked, “Is the fans why you are able to continue doing this? Is it just the love of the character?”
Murray explained it’s all of it. “We’ve been so fortunate with the different iterations of cast that we’ve had come through, too. I mean, I remember when Mark [Harmon] was kind of getting ready for Gibbs to appear less and less,” he said.
Harmon exited in NCIS Season 19, with Gibbs staying in Alaska, where he remains to this day. He hasn’t returned to NCIS but he has appeared on the prequel, Origins, including in the crossover. He also narrates every episode of that series, which takes a look at his character’s (Austin Stowell) early days at NIS, which has, as of the Origins Season 2 finale, been rebranded to NCIS. Harmon also is an executive producer on both shows.
“I remember some of the discussions about Gary Cole joining the show, and I remember getting the phone call about, ‘OK, so Gary’s the guy,’ and I remember feeling like, ‘Yeah, thank God. Thank God,'” Murray recalled on the podcast. “Because we have real stuff to work like in a big way there.” He also remembered having worked with Cole on a movie of the week at the age of 19 in 1996. “I couldn’t remember the name of it and he remembered it was called For My Daughter’s Honor.”
Murray also worked with Harmon previously to starring together on NCIS, in the early ’90s series Harts of the West, when he was 15. He worked with horses, Murray said, on the western that they filmed in Santa Clarita near where they shoot NCIS.
Gibbs did end up playing an important role during NCIS Season 23: Parker (Cole) called on him for his skills as a sniper to help take out one of the men responsible for Director Leon Vance’s (Rocky Carroll) death. “Maybe if you gave me one hand to choose the things I’m most proud of on this series, that’s going to be on the hand for sure,” executive producer Steven D. Binder told TV Insider.
“One of the things we’ve resisted doing is placing him in any specific area or job or location. I know Origins has done that to some degree, but you don’t necessarily know what time when that storytelling’s occurring,” he explained.
He continued, “We’ve been specifically avoiding Gibbs because I’ve always felt that Gibbs is a larger-than-life kind of guy, and you almost imagine he’s transitioned to another plane of existence. I don’t want to think of Gibbs living in an apartment in Anchorage. I want to think of him permanently in the woods, fishing, however that works. So I’ve been very careful about when we bring him back, if we were to bring him back in any way, that we don’t burst that bubble and we continue letting him be this larger-than-life character.”
What was also important was that “it had to be worthy,” Binder added. “It had to be worthy for Gibbs to come back. And what happened in the penultimate episode, I think, is about as worthy as it gets: protecting his family.”
NCIS, Season 24, Fall 2026, Tuesdays, 8/7c, CBS
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Conversation24 Comments
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J
I really like Gary Cole. He has a personality that is fun to watch. I am not a fan of NCIS Origins, do not watch
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F
I don't care for NCIS 0rigins either. Watched it 3 times. Was enough for me.
Sorry if this offends anyone but I like Gary Cole better than Mark Harmon. I love Mark as an actor. But, in my opinion Gary brings more character to the role
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H
I really like how Gibbs has become, not only "larger than life", but a sort of boogyman assassin who took care of business and then disappeared back into the Alaskan wilderness.
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N
I like the cast the way it is. Bring Gibbs back is ok but DO NOT remove Gary Cole from his current position.
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Y
I\n Love Gary Cole in the program that brought some new life, Gibbs was getting stale. He was predictable. I enjoy watching the new series. Keep him up
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B
Sean Harland Murray aka Tim McGee is my favorite character in the series NCIS
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M
I love how Gary Cole has made his character’s role a likable but still a very professional leader to the NCIS team. The fact that the writers and he have worked to allow this character to show his flaws, vulnerability, and strengths has allowed all of the actors to expand their characters “personalities”.
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V
Love NCIS Origins. Like learning about Mike Frank and the young Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Love Gary Cole on NCIS now.
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D
Just watched the entire run of ncis. Never realized how annoying and antagonistic Gibbs was. Parker treats the team with respect.
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J
I think the current cast works great. I also just can't get into Origins. I also wouldn't mind some guest spots from Gibbs though.
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V
I love Gary Cole. ORIGINS IS NOT FOR US...TOO MEAN SPIRITED!
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G
Totally agree. Don’t like the Franks character at all. I find he’s definitely mean spirited.
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C
I think Mark Harmon needs to come back to NCIS more frequently! I’m just starting to get use to NCIS Origins. Still I like the original NCIS & cast members better. But can’t you bring back Mark Harmon to possibly work a case with Gary Cole?
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A
Yeah, keep Cole, but it's time to Bring Gibbs back for a special. Enough, Already with the Wait! SHEESH! Does the opinon of Old Fans account for anything, anymore? I KNOW it doesn't for NCAA Football and MLB! 😎
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A
Timothy McGee is my favorite character. I disagree with you on Parker though I think he has done a great job of replacing the Gibbs character.
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J
I haven’t been able to watch any of the newer NCIS episodes, so I had no idea the character “Leon Vance” had been killed! 😢. The way my Spectrum tv package is set for “streaming only”, which means that I can’t watch any of the regular tv channels like CBS, NBC, etc. Maybe I can try to watch the CBS channel on my computer. 🤞🏼. But I do LOVE the character “Parker” played by Gary Cole & so far, the few times I had seen the younger version of the character “Ducky” played by Adam Campbell, has been enjoyable! 👍😊
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J
The series is no longer shown in South Africa. I loved the show with Gibbs.
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R
Wish you would bring Gibbs back!!
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Y
When are the rest of the series going to Netflix
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H
I have not watched NCIS since Gibbs left! Nor will I ever watch it again.
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S
Sorry do not like Parker (Gary Cole) I still watch because of Tim McGee. The new cast is good - and I do not watch Origins at all. No one could ever replace Gibbs.
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T
Parker is HORRIBLE. I can no longer watch NCIS.
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G
Parker is the anti-Gibbs. That’s the only way the show survives.
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K
Wrong, Parker is great and a freshness to the show. No one can replace Gibbs and Parker has never tried to do that. Great job Gary keep up the good work
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