Mark Harmon is turning over his badge as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs after nearly two decades. On Monday night’s episode of NCIS, Harmon bid farewell to his longtime workplace in season 19’s fourth episode titled, “Great Wide Open.” He has played the role since the show premiered in 2003.
After solving a case in Alaska alongside Special Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), Gibbs decides to retire there. “I’m not going back home,” Gibbs tells his partner, explaining that he feels a “sense of peace” that had eluded him since the deaths of his wife and daughter that he was “not ready to let go.” Gibbs then bids McGee an emotional goodbye: “I could not have hoped for anyone better to watch my back for the past 18 years than you, Tim.”
Harmon had been ready to exit NCIS ahead of its 19th season, sources told The Hollywood Reporter in June. However, he signed a one-year contract with the show to appear in its latest installment in “a limited capacity.” In season 18, Gibbs nearly lost his job after being suspended for assaulting a killer, and his life when nearly killed by a boat explosion in the finale.
“I’ve always thought if there’s ever a time where the writers are walking into the room and going, ‘I don’t know what to do’ then I think we all have to look at each other and call it a day,” Harmon told People in 2019. “But we’re not there yet.” He added, “I’ve been around long enough to know what this is. That commitment is part of what I signed up for; I know when this show ends that’s it—there won’t be anything else like this for me.”
Steven D. Binder, executive producer and showrunner of NCIS, paid tribute to Harmon after the episode aired, suggesting that the actor’s involvement may continue in some capacity. “As an executive producer and dear friend, Mark continues to be an integral part of the fabric of the show,” his statement read. “Our north star has always been staying true to our characters, and that truth has always guided the stories we tell and where those characters go. So regarding the future of Gibbs, as long-time fans of the show may have noticed over the years…never count Leroy Jethro Gibbs out.”
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