Shocking Revelation: Mark Harmon Unaware of Gibbs’ Return to NCIS – What’s Really Happening?

As Season 21 of CBS’s NCIS approaches, speculation about a tribute to the late original cast member David McCallum, who portrayed Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, has surfaced. Despite McCallum’s passing on September 25, there is uncertainty about whether the show will pay homage to the character. Mark Harmon, an executive producer on NCIS who hasn’t appeared on-screen as Leroy Jethro Gibbs since early Season 19, seems unaware of any plans for Gibbs to return.

In a recent Q&A with Entertainment Tonight on November 16, Harmon humorously remarked, “He’s probably sitting in a stream up in Alaska fishing. Will he be able to get out of the stream? I’m not sure. But if he is, I’m not aware of it.” Harmon previously commented on Gibbs’ retirement decision in a Season 19 DVD bonus, expressing that he thought it was a sincere and fitting conclusion for the character.

NCIS producer Steven D. Binder has maintained an intriguing ambiguity about Gibbs’ current location, emphasizing that the character is both nowhere and everywhere. Binder explained that he envisions Gibbs as if he has turned into pixie dust, floating in the sky until duty calls him back. Providing specific details about Gibbs’ current whereabouts would spoil the carefully crafted conclusion achieved for the character in Season 19, according to Binder. Gibbs has only appeared in ways that establish elements like the college trust fund and his influence on Jane Tennant’s career in NCIS: Hawai’i, offering no insight into his current life or its nature. Production on NCIS Season 21 is yet to start, and the fate of Gibbs and the potential tribute to Ducky remain uncertain.